It's Always Sunny in Vegas
by SeaMe
Summary: The gang have won a trip to Vegas! But once they get there, it's one problem after another. And what happens when they get ambushed in a studio and one of them is kidnapped? If their friendship doesn't survive, will they?
1. Vegas 777

**Here we go with a new story! I told you guys I wasn't giving up just yet! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own Victorious you need to see a doctor. Immediately.**

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><p>CHAPTER 1<br>Beck's POV

We were all sitting in the black box with Sikowitz. Jade had her legs on my lap and was picking at her nails intently, as if there were something underneath them that just didn't want to come out. I sighed, looking around, a little bored. We had spent the past ten minutes watching Sikowitz set up a projector and screen at the front of the room.

Our acting teacher came out from behind one of the black curtains, smiling. He clapped his hands together to get our attention and said, "Okay, class! If you'll all look up here, I have something very exciting to show you all today." He had a mischievous grin on his face as he pressed a button on the projector and a blue window popped up on the screen hanging from the wall.

"Ooo, are we going to watch a video?" Cat asked excitedly, clapping her hands together in a childish way.

"No, Cat, Sikowitz is going to make us stare at a blue screen all day," Jade replied sarcastically, taking her legs off my lap and placing them on the floor.

"Really?" Cat said in a dead serious tone of voice.

Jade rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. I reached over and put my arm around her. She scooted closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

Suddenly, the blue image disappeared and in its place was a man standing in front of some tall buildings in a nice suit. He wasn't moving at first, because it was a still picture, but then Sikowitz pressed another button on the projector and the video played, just before he dashed behind the curtain again.

"Hi! My name is Jeffrey Highes, and if you don't already know me, I am the person who created and is in charge of the Vegas 777 program," the man said in a slightly monotone voice. The buildings behind him shimmered in the darkness as he walked towards the camera. People were milling around him, either completely oblivious to something being filmed, or it was a green screen.

"Vegas 777!" Cat squealed, putting her hands over her mouth in disbelief.

"Shush!" someone said: it was Rex.

Tori, who was sitting in the row in front of me, leaned over to André and whispered something in his ear. He said something back that I couldn't hear, especially with Jade's head blocking my right side's hearing.

"I am very pleased to inform all of you that for this month, the workers of Vegas 777 and I have chosen to host our program at the school of Hollywood Arts," Jeffrey continued, the corners of his mouth turning up into what looked like a rather uneasy smile, as if he didn't do it much.

"No way!" Jade said, her head coming off my shoulder so she could get a better look at the screen. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the man's words.

"In two days, several of my workers will be coming to your school to collect the applications and interviews needed to enter," Jeffery said, his face still plastered with the awkward smile. "My staff and I will look over every one until we determine which lucky student will be able to come down here to Vegas to help us with our show. I can't wait to see some of you and I wish you all the best of luck in winning."

He waved a quick good-bye, and the screen went black.

"We are so going to enter," Jade told me. I nodded in agreement.

Sikowitz appeared back in the front of the classroom. "Vegas 777," he said, his eyes twinkling. "It's very kind of them to come here to Hollywood Arts and host it. I'm sure whoever gets to go will have the experience of a lifetime."

"But wait, I don't know what Vegas 777 is," Tori piped up.

"What?" Everyone's head turned in her direction.

"The video told you everything you needed to know," Jade pointed out, starting to play with the ends of her dyed hairs. She actually looked pretty cute doing it. I smiled and knocked my head playfully against hers and she smiled back at me.

"It just said that Hollywood Arts got chosen for the program. It didn't say what the program was about," Tori argued, turning around in her seat to face Jade.

"Vegas 777," Sikowitz began, pulling up an empty foldable chair and sitting down in it. He waited for everyone to look at him before he continued. "Is a sort of special program that is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was created and run by billionaire Jeffery Highes, who you just saw in the video." He crossed his right leg over his left and used his hands to show expression with his words. "Mr. Highes believes that everyone deserves an equal chance at becoming famous one day."

"I agree," I said out loud.

"Yeah, I do too," Robbie called.

"That man is right," Rex responded.

"Yes, yes, we all agree with Mr. Highes," Sikowitz said, his hand flapping about to dismiss our interruptions. "So as I was saying, Mr. Highes owns one of the most popular news stations in Las Vegas, and every month he goes to different schools all around the world in search of students who he thinks would be good enough to help host the show."

"It's a huge honor if you get to go," André added, turning to Tori. "Not only are you representing your school, but a lot of celebrities' careers have gotten started because they were first seen on 'LV: Daily Reports.'"

"Wow, that sounds really exciting," Tori said.

"No duh," Jade mumbled. I patted her knee, the smile on my face still growing.

"Yes, I was quite excited myself when Helen first told me and the rest of the staff that Hollywood Arts was the chosen school for this month," Sikowitz said in a matter-of-fact voice, standing up. "And like Mr. Highes said in the video, two days from now the interviews will be held here in the black box for those who wish to enter."

There was a soft murmuring in the class as everyone talked to their friends.

"So on that quick note, I will be helping all of you learn how to become great show hosts and interviewers, in case any of you do win the trip."

From his back pocket he whipped out a piece of crinkled white paper. He held it close to his face and read aloud, "Jade and Cat, please come up here. I need one of you to be the interviewer and the other to be the interviewee."

Jade winked at me before she made her way towards Sikowitz, and a huge grin erupted on my face.

"I'll be the interviewer," she said to Cat, who bounced up to the front with her.

"Kay kay," her friend answered excitedly.

"All right, Cat, you are an obnoxious woman who is constantly changing the subject to issues with hygiene. Jade, you are a cranky old man who hates his job, which is interviewing people. Action!"

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

I was standing at the end of the long line coming out of the black box with André, Cat, and Robbie. Jade and Beck weren't with us, so I assumed that they had gotten here earlier or they were late. But I knew for a fact that they were going to come eventually—I mean, who would turn up the chance win a trip to Vegas and star on a news show?

"I still can't believe Hollywood Arts gets a chance to participate in the Vegas 777 program," Robbie said excitedly. Rex was not with him thankfully, because he apparently had a 'stomach virus' and had to stay home.

"I hope one of us wins," André replied, a little anxiously, which was unusual behavior for him. "I heard that whoever wins gets to pick five friends and a teacher to go with them."

"Really?" I asked, turning to face him.

André nodded solemnly.

_Well that's certainly even more exciting_, I thought. So if I didn't win, and one of my friends did, I still had the chance of going. That was even cooler. The past two days were quite uneventful, and the only thing everyone talked about was the interviews that we would be doing to win the trip to Vegas.

Suddenly, a girl who looked like she was in her mid-thirties holding a clipboard walked up to us. There was a headset on her head, and she had the look of someone who meant business. I straightened my posture immediately, and my friends hastened to do the same.

"Hey guys," the woman said in a friendly tone that did not match the look on her face, "I just wanted to let you know that these forms need to be filled out before you can be interviewed." From the clipboard she handed out sheets of paper to us, and from her pocket came a few pens. "Give that to the man before you start the interview. Here's a little information about the trip." She gave us a thin packet of paper. "And I wish you all the best of luck in getting chosen." She moved over to the people who had now gathered behind us and explained the same directions to them.

"Look, it says here that we get to spend a two-week prepaid stay in a five-star hotel," Cat said, jumping up and down excitedly. "One time, I got to stay in a five-star hotel, but then we got kicked out because my brother—"

"We'll have the chance to participate in _at least _ten broadcasts," André read out loud, interrupting Cat's story. I think he was too excited to contain it. "One per day, I think. Wow, that's a lot."

"Then that gives us four days to just hang out!" I exclaimed, smiling.

"Dang, whoever gets to go will be like he luckiest people on Earth," Robbie commented, looking over his own paper.

We chatted a little more about what the papers said while we filled them out and the line moved forward slowly but steadily. Finally we got to the front and there were some men moving around a small area of the theater covered with fancy lights, cameras on tripods, and even a white backdrop to stand in front of.

Robbie went first, and it seemed to go well, probably because he didn't have Rex, who I think was the reason why he wasn't chosen to be on "The Wood" when we had had interviews back then. Cat went second, and she couldn't stand still and kept bouncing around. I hoped the people would overlook her incredibly bubbly personality and see what a really talented actress and singer she was. André wanted me to go before him, but I told him that he could go first so he did.

And then it was my turn. I stood in front of the biggest camera on its tripod, and put on a warm smile, trying to stay as relaxed as possible.

"So, Tori," one of them men said, looking over the papers I had given him, "why don't you tell us why you think you deserve to be sent to Vegas?"

I took a deep breath and gave him my answer.

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

We were all sitting in Sikowitz's classroom, waiting for Helen to announce who had won the chance to participate in the Vegas 777 program. It was completely silent in the room, except I could hear Jade's soft breathing in my ear, as her head was rested on my shoulder.

"Hello everyone," Helen's voice finally came onto the loudspeaker. I could feel Jade tensing up next to me. Our interviews that we had done about three days ago I thought had gone pretty well, except Jade had gotten very upset with one of the younger ladies who kept trying to flirt with me.

"I am honored to tell you all who the winner of the Vegas 777 program is." She paused briefly to let her words take affect, and then continued. "I'm very pleased with this choice they made, as this person will definitely be able to represent Hollywood Arts well."

The room was filled with a deafening silence as we waiting for Helen to make her announcement. Jade's breathing sped up, and I could hear my heart beating. There was the sound of crinkling paper on the speaker.

_Please be someone that I know, please be someone that I know_, I thought desperately. After all, the winner was to bring five of their friends and one teacher with them on the trip, and I was on pretty good terms with a lot of people in Hollywood Arts, which meant that I did have a big chance of going.

Helen took a big breath, and I thought I was going to burst with the tension in the air. "And the winner is…Beck Oliver!"

The classroom erupted into applause before jumping out of their seats to surround me. Jade pulled me into a very nice kiss, and I didn't even care that practically the entire class was watching us.

"Beck, we're best buds, right?" someone said.

"Hey, Beck, you want thirty bucks?" another person spoke up.

"You want my number Beck?"

Everyone crowded closer to me, hoping to catch my attention. I couldn't see my friends' faces in the sea of people, and it didn't help that everyone was pushing one another to get close.

"Hey everybody, back off my boyfriend!" Jade yelled suddenly, her arms still wrapped around me. "And he can only choose four people to bring as of now. Because I'm already one of the five." I smiled as everyone immediately backed off, and for once I was thankful for her jealousy issues that helped ease the pressure of only having to choose four other friends.

"Well," I said slowly, as everyone retreated to their seats, but still turned to face me, anxious and hopeful looks in their eyes. For some reason, it never hit me before to have chosen people I wanted to come with me in advance. But after taking a glance around the classroom, my decision was already made.

"Tori, André, Cat, Robbie," I said, naming off my closest friends. "Do you guys want to come with me—" I was cut off as Cat ran over to me and hugged me tightly, knocking Jade's arms out of the way. At first I was a little worried that Jade might say something mean, but she kept to herself quietly.

"You're serious, Beck?" André said in disbelief, coming over and giving me a hearty pat on the back, his eyes shining.

"Wow, thanks man!" Robbie exclaimed. "You're…you're amazing! My…my parents aren't going to believe this," he stuttered out.

Tori came up to me next and it looked she was about to hug me, but Jade stepped between else, a familiar scowl crossing her face. Tori looked slightly crestfallen, but quickly said, "Thanks so much, Beck!"

Jade said something before Tori could get any closer to me.

"Which teacher are you going to bring, Beck?"

I glanced over at Sikowitz, who was absentmindedly sipping at a coconut, sitting on the stage, his eyes drifting into space.

"Sikowitz?" I asked, and my favorite teacher snapped out of his trance.

"Yes, Beck?"

"Would you like to come and be our chaperone to Vegas?"

"Oh, me? Why of course!" Sikowitz said, standing up, the straw never leaving the corner of his mouth. "You know I once went to Vegas. With a bunch of circus people." He gazed thoughtfully into the distance. Tori had this weird look on her face, and André snickered loudly.

Helen's voice came back on the loudspeaker. "Beck Oliver, could you please come down to the main office?" There was a click as she turned it off.

Jade kissed me again briefly before I got up and headed down to Helen's office.

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><p>Trina's POV<p>

I was busy re-applying my lip-gloss when I heard the front door bang open.

"Trina? Are you here?" Tori yelled from downstairs.

I rolled my eyes and hollered back, "Yeah I'm up here!"

There was thumping on the stairs and suddenly my bedroom door burst open, Tori looking incredibly excited about something.

"Why are you so happy looking?" I asked.

"Beck won Vegas 777, and he picked me as one of the people to come with him!" Tori said, her smile getting bigger.

"Did he choose me too?" I asked.

"Well, you guys don't really know each other," my sister told me quickly. "So no, he didn't pick you. But I'm good friends with him and I hang out with him, like every day.

"And what has that got to do with anything?" I replied, standing up and moving towards her.

Tori had a confused look on her face. "It has to do with everything! I don't think someone's going to invite someone they barely know!" she exclaimed as I pushed past her and starting walking down the stairs.

Sometimes Tori had such illogical comebacks. If _I _had won, I would've invited anyone who wanted to come, regardless of how well I knew them. I mean, if you have people who really want to be with you, why not let them? Geez, Tori still had so much to learn in life.

I made my way to our couches and sat down, pulling my PearPhone out of my pocket, thinking to myself. If Tori got to miss school for two weeks to go to Vegas, why couldn't I? I know Beck hadn't chosen me to one of the five friends he brought with him, but that still didn't mean I couldn't go. Invited or uninvited, I would get to Vegas with them.

I had a plan in my mind. People always overlooked my smarts because my talent and looks often stopped them from looking enough.

I knew exactly what I was going to do. I opened up a new note on my PearPhone, flipping a stray strand of hair over my shoulder. First I would get their flight number and the name of the hotel they were staying at. It might be kind of hard to get the information out of them, but I was smart. I would find a way eventually.

And then I would just go from there. Sure, I didn't have too much money with me, because I spent most of it buying new clothes and makeup and such, but like I said, I would find a way.

After all, I _am _Trina Vega, and when I want something, I'm not stopping 'til I get it.

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><p><strong>Okay, so how did you like it? Did it seem too rushed? Were someone people OOC? Tell me.<strong>

**I know this chapter was pretty predictable, but that's because you read the summary, right? Anyway, if you did or not, I'm sure you could've predicted what would happen :P. Well at least, just in this chapter.  
>It's gonna get a whole lot less predictable as I get more in the story. Seriously. :)<strong>


	2. Airport Issues

**Okay, just to let y'all know ahead of time this is _supposed _to sort of a comedy story, especially in some chapters, but if you don't really think it's funny...well, okay... **

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><p>CHAPTER 2<br>Trina's POV

At dinner that night, Tori could not stop talking about how excited she was to go to Vegas with her friends. Seriously, some people just don't know when to shut up, do they? I sighed and tried to focus on finishing my salad before heading up into my room.

I went to my closet and pulled out my hot pink luggage that my parents had got me several years ago. I piled in a bunch of shirts and pants and other articles of clothing. I knew that I couldn't put anything else in it, like my toiletries, or my parents would probably suspect something. So I shoved the bag back into my closet.

I peeked outside my door and heard my parents and Tori talking.

"We'll get you a credit card or something," Dad said. "Because I don't think it's going to be very safe for you to be carrying out two-weeks' worth of cash. Especially in Vegas."

"Sikowitz is going, too, you know," Tori replied.

"Yes, well," Mom said, "he's Sikowitz, and I don't think he reacts to situations the way most people would."

"Okay," Tori said resignedly.

"We'll connect your account to ours so we can monitor what you spend," Dad said, and I heard his fingers clicking on his laptop. "We'll try and order you a card, but if it doesn't get here in time you can just use ours. We've got a couple extras and you can use one of them."

"Yay!" Tori exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and ducked back into my bedroom. I'd wait until everyone was asleep to make my first move.

It was close to two in the morning when I felt my PearPhone vibrate underneath my pillow. I sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I was considering going back to sleep but then I remembered: I had a job to do.

As quietly as I could I tiptoed over to my parents' bedroom. I saw Mom sleeping in the bed, and I figured that Dad was downstairs finishing up his paperwork or something. I knew she kept her purse right next to her bedside, so I had to be very careful going to get it.

I snuck my way to her side, crawling on the floor, looking on the ground frantically for her purse. I found it and reached inside, feeling for her wallet and pulling it out. I opened it up in the dark, not able to see anything in it. I knew that she kept a couple of credit cards in there, in case of emergencies and stuff, so I grabbed the first two cards I could feel before putting the wallet away and dashing out of there as quietly and as fast as I could.

_Mission a success_, I thought, coming back into my room. I turned on my desk light and looked over the cards. One was a gift card to Skybucks, which I was probably going to have to return so my mom wouldn't get suspicious, and the other was what I was looking for: a silver, shiny new credit card. I smiled to myself, and knew that tomorrow; phase two would be put into action.

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><p>"Hey, Cat!" I called at the redhead. It was afterschool, and lucky for me, Tori had gone with André, Beck and Jade to some restaurant, and she was no longer here at Hollywood Arts. Even Robbie had somewhere to be; I think he had gone home early to take care of Rex.<p>

"Oh, hi Trina!" Cat said, turning around and smiling at me.

"So I heard you get to go on the Vegas 777 trip," I inquired.

"Yeah I do. Beck invited me and my parents said I could go," Cat replied, fiddling with the stuffed pink rabbit in her hands.

"Well, that's great news," I congratulated. She nodded mutely in agreement, stroking her animal's furry mustache. It looked like she was getting ready to walk away, but I said quickly, "So, did they like, talk to you about the trip today or something? Because I know Tori said last night that someone was going to talk to her about it."

"Uh-huh," the girl said.

There was an awkward silence as I waited for her to tell me more, but Cat was silent, grinning down at her toy.

"So, what kind of things did they tell you?" I asked, pulling my PearPhone out of my pocket.

"Oh, I'm not supposed to tell you," she said, looking up at me.

"Why—why not?" I persisted, trying not to act surprised. I opened up the note I had started from the previous night.

"Because it's a secret…shh." She brought a finger to her lips.

"Well, I'm really good at keeping secrets, you can tell me," I encouraged. "Um, Tori told me everything at lunch, and I want to see if the information she had was right," I lied. "I promise not to tell anyone."

Cat's eyebrows came together suspiciously. Finally she said, "Okay, I guess I can tell you. I'm not _supposed _to, but they didn't say I _couldn't_. And if Tori told you, why can't I?" She giggled, and I got ready to take down notes. "They told us that our flight was going to be in the afternoon on Friday and the flight number is LV25, and that our hotel is called The Royale."

I jotted down the notes furiously on my PearPhone. "Is that it? Because Tori told me something about the news station."

"She did? But they made us swear not to tell anyone." She looked so sad all of a sudden. "I don't like swearing."

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant," I said quickly, trying to cover up my mistake. "You know, that must've been my imagination. Never mind."

"Okay," she replied, perking up almost instantly.

"Well, thanks for talking to me," I said, getting ready to leave. "Now I can compare notes." I waved my PearPhone around in her face. "Bye, Cat!"

"Bye, Trina!" she called, waving at me furiously, although I had already turned around was walking away. And I was too far away to hear her say, "Now wait, was it the LV25 flight or LV44?"

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

It was the day of my departure to Vegas. I stood by the front door, my bags packed and my plane ticket in hand. Dad had given me one of his own credit cards after all, and it was safely tucked away in my purse. He helped me wheel my luggage out to the car, because I would not be returning home: a cab would pick us up from school and take us straight to the airport.

Trina came out of the house just as I had the last bag packed away, wheeling her own hot pink luggage.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Trina," my dad said, holding up a hand to stop her from bringing the bag into the car. "What are you doing?"

"You know my friend Molly? Well, she invited me over to have a sleepover this weekend," Trina told him.

"Really? And how come you didn't mention this earlier?" my dad questioned.

"She sent me a text last night," Trina answered. "We might go watch a movie or just hang out or something."

"Okay, well, give us a call when you get to her house later tonight," he said, taking her luggage and putting it in the back of the car with mine.

Mom came out of the house when Trina was sitting in the driver's seat and I was in shotgun.

"Bye Tori," she said in a thick voice, reaching into the car through the window to hug us. "And have fun at your sleepover, Trina. Don't come home too early now."

I snickered and said, "Bye Mom," giving her a hug back.

"Keep close with your group," she replied, not letting go of me. "And don't do anything stupid."

"I promise," I mumbled back.

"Okay." She stepped away, and Trina drove the car out of the driveway. "Bye!" I called one last time to my parents, waving at them both. "I'll send you a post card when I get there!"

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

We had all just gotten to the airport. It was about two in the afternoon, and we were all hauling our luggage through the front doors, trying to figure out which way to go.

"Didn't they say that they were going to meet us somewhere?" Robbie asked as we made our way through the crowds. Much to everyone's dismay Rex was coming along, as he had gotten over his stomach virus.

"Yes," Sikowitz replied, "but they'll be meeting us at the Vegas airport; not here."

"Our flight is in two hours," Tori interrupted.

"Okay, well, why don't we figure out what to do first?" Sikowitz pulled us over to the side. "Beck and Jade, can you guys check in the luggage? Over there." He pointed to a ridiculously long line that led up to several large machines that people were weighing luggage on.

I saw that Jade was about to object so I said, "Sure."

"Good," Sikowitz answered, handing us a whole packet of plane tickets to show to the people that we were checking bags in for our friends, and not just us.

Everyone handed us their luggage that they wanted to be checked in. There ended up being too many for just the two of us, so Sikowitz made Robbie come with us, who left Rex with Tori. We dragged the four big luggages, two large handbag ones, and Sikowitz's backpack to the back of the line.

"Wow, that's a lot of bags you got there," the old man in front of us said when he saw what we were holding.

"They're for friends," I hastened to say, because Jade was probably going to say something ruder. "We're, uh, taking a trip to Vegas."

"Fun," the man replied.

And so we stood there for what seemed hours until we finally reached the front of the line. Robbie kept trying to talk to Jade, but Jade continued to ignore him, while I watched with an amused face.

I grabbed three of the luggage and wheeled them over to the first open counter, while Jade and Robbie waited at the front of the line for the next open spot. We figured to check in the bags a few at a time, rather than all at once. I showed the woman three plane tickets and she accepted them without a word. I saw that Robbie was struggling to lift André's baggage onto the scale at one station, and Jade was talking to a man at a different counter, no luggages by her feet.

I walked over and helped Robbie place Cat's colorful bag onto the scale before the woman tossed it away on the conveyor belt, and then we made our way over to Jade.

"Yes, this one will be going on the LV44 flight," she told the man, reaching into her purse to pull out some tickets, "but this one is on the LV25 flight." The man looked at the tickets a bit warily, but accepted them without a word.

I heard the little exchange and questioned her when she came over to us.

"Jade, we're all on the LV44 flight," I said as the man heaved Tori's luggage onto the conveyor belt along with the rest, which were already making their way down the line to wherever the luggages went.

"I know," she answered as we started to walk back to the group.

"But I heard you say that one of the luggages was on the LV25 flight," I countered. I paused, thinking. "Give me your tickets," I said, almost frantically.

She didn't move so I grabbed her purse and reached inside.

"Beck!" she shouted.

I looked and found three plane tickets, even though I had three and Robbie had two.

"What is this?" I asked her, pointing to the one ticket that was clearly labeled, 'Flight LV25.'

"It's a plane ticket!" Jade shouted again.

"But it's not even our…" I turned over the odd ticket in my hands. "Where did you get this? Did you make this with that fake plane ticket generator? Come on Jade, this is serious!"

"I know," she shot back.

"Why would you make a fake one if…" I looked back at the conveyor belt just in time to see Tori's luggage disappear behind the black curtains. "Wait, what flight did you put Tori's on?" Jade's face was expressionless, but I knew her well enough to see the guilt in her eyes. "Oh my god, Jade."

"What's wrong?" Robbie interrupted.

I didn't answer but shoved the tickets into my pocket, sprinting back to the counter Jade was originally at, pushing the couple that were being attended to out of the way.

"Sir, you need to stop that thing," I said, pointing to the moving conveyor belt. "My girlfriend put some luggage on the wrong flight."

"I'm sorry, but we can't stop everything over one piece of misplaced baggage," the man explained, turning back to the couple. "If it's going to the same place, you'll just have to wait for the flight to get there to reclaim it, all right? And if not, well, I suggest you see the customer service desk. I don't even know how you could get luggage on the wrong flight anyway." He continued to talk to the couple, pointedly ignoring me.

I walked away slowly, hoping that the LV25 flight was also meant to go to Vegas. Robbie was still staring at me weird, and Jade was trying to look as innocent as possible. We trudged back to the group.

"What happened?" Tori asked. "I saw you run back over there, Beck," she said, handing Rex back to Robbie.

"Yes, well," I said, looking at Jade, whose eyes got big, "Jade put your luggage on a different flight, Tori, so when we get there, we might have to wait a little bit until you can get yours."

"What?" Tori exclaimed. "How could she get my luggage on a different flight?"

"With this," I said, pulling the tickets and fake one out of my pocket.

"Where did you get this?" Tori muttered angrily, snatching the fake one out of my hand, a surprised look on her face at how real the ticket seemed.

"She used that fake ticket generator app, I think."

"Why, why, why would you do that?" Tori said, turning to Jade angrily.

"Well, if our plane breaks down and loses all its luggage, at least you know that yours will be safe," Jade explained.

"That is not the point here!" Tori replied, almost shouting. "Come on Jade, what have I done to you to make you hate me so much?"

Robbie was watching the argument with mute interest and Jade was getting ready to answer when Sikowitz stepped in.

"Okay, Tori, calm down," he said, acting like a mature grown-up for once. "And Jade, if you pull any more of those pranks you will be sent home immediately. Especially if those pranks are illegal." He took the fake ticket out of my hand and ripped it to shreds. "This trip is supposed to fun, and it's not going to be if either one of you are constantly arguing."

I nodded in agreement.

"And that goes for the rest of you," Sikowitz continued. "If anyone here—"

"Hey wait," Rex interrupted, "where's Cat and André?"

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><p>André's POV<p>

We were waiting for Beck, Jade and Robbie to check-in the bags, and I was really bored. Sikowitz was leaned up against the wall, looking like he was sleeping. Cat was standing next to me, and Tori was watching group at the check-in areas like a hawk, as if she were waiting for something bad to happen.

"Hey André," I heard Cat say, tugging at my sleeve.

"What, Little Red?" I asked.

"You know the one time when I came here with my family, my brother had a backpack full of water balloons, and he threw them at random people before we got to the security," she said.

"Oh…kay…" I replied slowly.

"But it turned out, the balloons weren't filled with water, it was paint, and so it got everywhere and on everything, so they had to repaint the walls which cost a lot of money. And now my brother's not allowed to come here."

"Interesting," I said.

"Do you want to go and see what that area looks like now?" she asked. "It's really pretty."

"Um, no, we have to stay here and wait for them to finish up with the luggage," I told her.

"Come on, André!" she persisted. "It'll be really quick; I promise."

"Fine," I said. _I have nothing better to do anyway_. Cat grabbed my hand and started to pull me in one direction. "Hey, Tori!" I called as Cat dragged me away.

"What?" she asked, not looking at my direction, but still at the baggage area.

"I'm going with Cat to see something! We'll be back soon," I said as we went through a crowd of people.

"Okay," she responded, so quietly I almost didn't hear it.

Too bad I didn't realize that Sikowitz had 'woken up,' and that Tori was talking to him, not me.

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><p><strong>Not much of a cliffhanger, but it does make you want to read more, right? ;)<strong>

**Anyway, I'm not gonna lie but this was such an amusing chapter to write. :D ****I hope all the characters are 'in character,' except for maybe Trina in the beginning, but I couldn't really think of any other way to portray her and keep the same actions.**

**Review! **


	3. The Flight

**Yay, Chapter 3! And just so you know, most of this is written from Tori's POV...only because it was easiest (and she is definitely _not _my favorite character).**

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><p>CHAPTER 3<br>Tori's POV

I could not believe that Jade had managed to get my luggage on a different flight. What had I done to her to make her hate me so much? Sikowitz yelled at her for her actions, which lifted my spirits slightly, but then Rex interrupted, asking where Cat and André went.

"Um, I don't know," I said. "I was too busy watching you guys check in the luggage too notice them leave." I tried to recall if André might have gotten my attention at some point, but the only thing I could remember was Sikowitz asking me if I wanted one of his coconut candies, which I accepted. It was actually pretty good.

"Well, I'm sure they'll come back soon. Maybe Cat had to go to the bathroom or something," Beck reasoned. Everyone agreed that the red head might have simply wanted to use the restroom and André had probably gone with her, so we stood there and waited for them to return.

Of course, I still was furious with Jade and couldn't stand looking at her at the moment, so I stood next to Robbie.

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen.

"Okay, where are Cat and André?" Robbie asked.

"Maybe they got lost," I said. "This is a pretty big airport and everything looks the same."

"I'll call Cat," Jade said, taking out her phone and dialing her friend.

"I'll call André," Beck added.

We waited as they called our missing friends. There was a sudden buzzing noise coming out of André's bag, and when we looked inside it we found that he had left his green PearPhone in it.

"You have got to be kidding," Beck groaned, hanging up.

"Is Cat picking up?" Robbie asked Jade, a little shyly.

Rex chuckled and said, "Why you care so much about Cat, Rob?"

Robbie turned red but didn't say anything.

"No, she's not picking up," Jade announced, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "So what do we do now?"

"Why don't we just head towards security check right now? It's probably going to take a long time with so many of us," I said.

"Yeah, okay, let's go," Sikowitz agreed, directing us to one direction.

There were several people in uniforms pointing us to a line that zigzagged all over the place.

"Is that seriously the security line?" Robbie asked in disbelief.

"Dang, do you people not know it's not okay to smuggle stuff to foreign countries?" Rex shook his head amusedly.

I saw Jade roll her eyes and couldn't help but agree with her.

And so we waited. My arms were starting to get sore from holding Cat's bag as well as my own, and it didn't help that the line was moving as slow as a caterpillar. I kept trying to get call Cat, because I had nothing better to do, but it kept going to voicemail. Beck was holding Jade and they were talking quietly, Robbie looked like he had fallen asleep with his eyes open, and Sikowitz was fiddling with the straps of his shoulder bag.

_Well, wherever Cat and André are_, I thought, _I hope they're okay_.

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><p>André's POV<p>

"Cat, are you sure you know where we're going?" I asked my friend, a little worried. We had spent the last ten minutes walking around, and Cat kept saying, "It's over here. No wait, I think it's this way. Oh, we're close. Wait, I lied; it's still pretty far."

"Yes, I'm sure," Cat said, but I didn't really believe her.

"Well, how much longer do you think we're going to be—?"

Cat squealed loudly and I stopped. "Look, André, look!" She ran up to a normally painted white wall and pointed at it wildly.

"Um, cool?" I said unsurely. I honestly could not see what was so exciting or special about the wall. All of the walls in the airport looked exactly the same: white with picture frames hanging on them, or colorful designs painted on. But Cat obviously thought it was the coolest thing ever and went through the process of pointing out every little picture on the wall, launching into a full-blown story of what used to be there.

"Isn't that exciting?" Cat asked me when she was finally done. "My brother actually helped them make it look all nicer than it used to be!"

"Um, yeah, it was great Little Red. Now can we please go back? We've been gone a while now," I said. I reached into my pocket, trying to take out my PearPhone, but I realized that I had left it in my backpack with the rest of the group. _Shoot_, I thought.

"I need to use the bathroom first," she replied, jumping up and down like she had to go really bad even though she was perfectly fine seconds ago.

"Okay."

We walked over to the nearest bathroom and Cat went in while I waited outside. I looked at one of the clocks on the wall, seeing that it was almost 2:40. _Hurry up, Cat_, I thought.

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

Finally, finally, _finally_ we had reached the front of the line. A man wearing sunglasses and a badge was passing out plastic bins to place our stuff in. Sikowitz was first up, and he took off his shoes and bag and put them in the bins, rolling them into the little x-ray machine.

Beck and Jade were next, putting their things and André's bag on the short conveyor thing and then stepping through the metal detector. It was an awkward moment when Jade's bag went through the x-ray machine and the woman watching the screen stopped the conveyor, saying, "Hold on, let me put this back through."

Sikowitz, who was standing at the other side, waiting for us, shot his eyebrows up suspiciously.

The lady stared hard at the screen. "Oh, never mind," she said apologetically, turning a little red, "you can take your stuff."

Jade snatched her bag up, glaring angrily at the woman, while Beck looked like he was trying to keep from laughing. They put their shoes back on and went to stand by Sikowitz. Sikowitz said something to Jade and Beck laughed, while she looked like she was going to smack someone.

Robbie and Rex were in front of me. Robbie put his bag in a bin, pushing it towards the machine. He took Rex's and his shoes off as well. The airport people were giving him weird looks as he walked through the metal detector with Rex on his arm, probably wondering why he just didn't put the puppet through the machine too.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"Hold on, son," a big man said, walking up to Robbie, causing the entire line to stop. "Do you have anything metal on you?"

Robbie thought for a brief moment, and then said, "No I don't."

"Okay, walk through it again."

Robbie backed up and went walked through, his face blank.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"I swear I don't have anything metal on!" he said before the man could ask him again.

"Put the puppet into the x-ray machine," the man said, frowning.

"He's not a puppet!"

"Put him in the machine." The man's words were icy, his expression unreadable.

"Nah, it's cool, Rob," Rex said. "I've always wanted to see what the inside of the x-ray machine looks like."

Robbie hesitantly put Rex into one of the bins and the woman working the conveyor sent him in. She was staring at the screen intently, and I felt my palms go sweaty. I could not believe this was happening. It was so embarrassing. Even without turning around, I could feel the looks and stares directed towards Robbie for the hold-up.

"No, the puppet's clean," the lady reported, pushing a button and sending Rex out of the machine. Robbie picked him up and put him in his usual position on his arm.

"Ha ha, yeah I'm clean. But you wanna get dirty with me, go ahead," Rex said to the lady.

"Rex!" Robbie shouted.

I smacked my face with my palm. The other airport workers were looking very suspiciously at Robbie. Beck was looking shocked and Jade was laughing behind her hand at the lady's face, and Sikowitz was gone. He was probably too embarrassed to hang around.

"Step through the machine," the big man said to Robbie one last time.

Robbie stepped through again, and the machine beeped.

"Okay, son," the man said, looking incredibly annoyed, "come with me." He hauled Robbie and Rex away to an area blocked off by tall opaque screens. I could guess what was going on behind there, but I didn't want to say assume.

I went through both x-ray and metal detectors effortlessly. I took up Cat and Robbie's things, bringing them over to Beck and Jade.

"Well that was embarrassing," I commented as Beck helped me with Robbie's things.

"What could he possibly have on him to set those things off? Didn't he put his stuff in those bins or in his other luggage?" Jade asked, but she was more talking to Beck.

"They had to double-check your things," I replied smartly.

"So? At least I didn't get pulled aside." She snickered, pointing to the area Robbie had got pulled behind.

"I bet it had something to do with Rex," I said darkly as we made our way out of the packed security area and sat down on the nearest bench. "I wonder about that boy sometimes." I looked around, noticing something was out of place. "Hey, where did Sikowitz—"

"Shut up, Tori!" Jade yelled suddenly. I looked at her angrily but saw that she was talking on the phone, so I didn't say anything. "Hey, Cat? Where the heck are you?" She stood up. "Yes, we went through security already. What are you talking about? You'd better get here as soon as possible, okay?" Her tone got softer. "Yeah, we'll wait for you. Sure, whatever." She hung up. "They're coming now. Apparently Cat wanted to show André something…" She rolled her eyes and sat down on Beck's lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, Sikowitz said he had to use the bathroom," Beck told me just as our acting teacher appeared next to us.

"I'm going to wait for Robbie," Sikowitz said, disappearing back into the security check area.

I sighed, leaning my head on the wall and closing my eyes, wishing that this trip could've had a better start.

* * *

><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

* * *

><p>I woke up suddenly, not realizing that I had fallen asleep. Cat was standing next to me, an adorable grin on her face. André was talking quietly to Beck, and Jade had her eyes closed, leaning back on him. Sikowitz was here too, standing next to Robbie, whose face was bright red.<p>

"Come on, let's get to our gate," André said, smiling at me. "Now that we're all here."

"What time is it?" I rubbed my eyes.

"It's about 3:10," Cat informed me.

"All right, we're at gate A16," Sikowitz said, tapping on Jade to wake her up. "Let's go."

"So what happened to you?" I asked André as we started walking.

"Cat wanted me to see this area that go renovated because of her brother," he muttered. "Not exactly the most exciting thing ever."

I laughed. "Hey, Robbie, what happened with you earlier?"

"Rex hid a bunch of keys in my pants," Robbie replied angrily. "He sewed them into the material." He pointed to the bottom of his pants, which unrolled and had holes at random spots, probably to get the keys out. "They pat me down and did a strip search! _And_ they used that wand thing!"

"Haha, yeah it was hi-larious," Rex commented.

I raised my eyebrows while André coughed to keep from laughing. Robbie was so weird sometimes.

We arrived at our gate, and there were a few open spots left to sit. Beck and Jade went to sit by themselves, and Sikowitz warned us all not to leave for any reason unless he talked to him first, so as to prevent another mishap like what happened earlier.

I waited with André, Cat and Robbie, and we chatted until our plane got here.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>It was about 3:45 when we boarded the plane. Our seats were very close together, so Cat, Jade and Beck sat on one side, while I sat with André and Robbie. The plane was small and only six seats across, so Sikowitz sat in front of us with some strangers, but I don't think he was too worried about that.<p>

We went through the boring routine of watching the video on safety, and ten minutes after that the plane started moving. I wanted to take a nap, but Beck and Jade who were sitting right across from me since I had the aisle seat, were talking really loud.

When we were finally in the air and were allowed to move in the cabins, Cat got up immediately, saying that she had to go to the bathroom. André rolled his eyes and put on his headphones, leaning back in his seat. I reached into my bag and pulled out a book to read.

I was so absorbed in the story I didn't realize that the flight attendants with the drinks was coming down the aisle. I put my book away and waited for them to come. Beck was playing with his PearPhone and Jade was helping Cat color a picture of a unicorn.

"It's so pretty, Jade!" Cat exclaimed, giving her best friend a big hug.

"Yes it is," Jade replied calmly when Cat let go of her, taking out a bright red crayon, an evil grin on her face. "Now let's make him prettier."

"Hahaha," Cat laughed loudly, clapping her hands together. "Jade's putting make-up on the pretty unicorn! Look Tori!" She snatched the coloring book out of Jade's hands and showed me across the aisle.

"Oh, that's, uh, very pretty, Jade," I said, trying to force down a grimace. Jade had colored red streaks coming out of the unicorn's eyes, making it look like it was crying tears of blood. Ew.

"I modeled it after you, Vega," Jade shouted back.

Suddenly, the drink cart came by us. I shook André awake and pointed to it.

"Um, can I get a Sprite?" I asked.

"Sure thing," the lady said, taking out a can of soda and cup and giving it to me. The other attendant was taking care of Beck's side; I could hear Jade yelling at Cat to 'Calm down, it's just apple juice!' "And what would you like, sir?" she asked André.

"One Pepsi, please."

The flight attendant got his order before looking over at Robbie, who was fast asleep by the window with Rex sitting in his lap. "Um…"

"Just get me a root beer," Rex said abruptly.

"Coming right up," she said, a little hesitantly, grabbing the root beer and cup and handing them to André, who put it on the tray in front of Robbie. The lady wheeled the cart forward, revealing Beck with a water, Jade with coffee, and Cat was drinking a can of apple juice.

I took a few sips of my soda, leaning back and admiring the nice interior of the plane. André had his headphones on again and was bobbing his head in time with the music, and Robbie had 'woken up' and was drinking his root beer, complaining to Rex that he wanted lemonade instead.

"What do you mean?" I heard Sikowitz say suddenly from the seat in front of us.

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't have any coconut milk," the flight attendant calmly explained to our teacher. "We just have soda, water, and coffee."

"Oh really?" Sikowitz asked. "Well gee, what kind of stinkin' airline is this? First you don't let me bring any coconuts into the airport, and then you don't even serve any?" He crossed his arms over his chest and refused to say another word to the confused flight attendant. I muffled my laughter into my sleeve.

Another ten minutes passed, and I figured we were almost there. The flight was only an hour, but it was felt like forever. Cat kept getting up and going to the bathroom literally every five minutes and Jade was getting upset having to get out of the way, so at one point she didn't let Cat pass, but Cat apparently really had to go so she climbed over the seats to get out. And Rex starting making fun of the other passengers, especially telling the women, "Yeah, baby, you wanna hang with me in Vegas?" It was probably the longest ride of my life, and I could tell I was not the only one to be relieved when we landed.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>We got out of the plane soundly, but getting our luggage was a bit of a problem. Everyone found theirs except for André and me, but that's because mine was on a different flight, thanks to Jade. It turned out another man had accidently taken André's bag, but luckily Robbie spotted it and hunted him down before he could leave. After that, we decided to drive to the hotel and hang there until the next flight with my luggage came.<p>

Three cabs came to pick us up from the airport. We split up and got into the cars. I was with André, Sikowitz went with Robbie, and Beck, Jade and Cat had their own. The drive to the hotel was rather slow—the traffic was horrible, as it was about 5:30 p.m., but I didn't mind so much, as the beautiful lights of the fancy buildings and casinos kept me distracted.

We arrived at the hotel at six, which was good because it would give us time to check in before going back. The plane my luggage was on was delayed, so we wouldn't need to rush.

The cab drivers hauled our bags out of the trunks and gave them to the bellboys before driving off. The bellboys piled our things onto the carts, following close behind us. We gathered at the front entrance of the hotel, our mouths gaping in total awe at the heavily decorated and furnished place.

A smiley woman opened up the large glass doors, and I had to rub my eyes to make sure what I was seeing was real.

"Welcome to The Royale," she said, grinning at our reactions.

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><p><strong>Once again, I realize this isn't really a cliffhanger, but I'm sure you all want to know what The Royale looks like, right? ;)<strong>

**Anyway, hope you liked it. Review!**


	4. The Royale

**Hmm...I don't really have anything to say up here...but I hope you've had a laughable time reading this story so far!**

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><p>CHAPTER 4<br>Tori's POV

The first thing I saw was the gigantic chandelier hanging from the huge ceiling in the middle of the room, its crystals glittering in the lights like a disco ball. There were leather couches, lounge chairs and coffee tables spread out over the thick red carpets that covered parts of the marble floors. I saw a few ATM machines by the doors, and on the walls were long mirrors that made the room look twice as big. People were walking around and bellboys in uniforms were wheeling around carts filled to the tops with bags. If this was just the front area, I couldn't wait to see the rooms.

We went up to the gold-colored counters, looking around eagerly. There was a bowl of candy on top, and Jade grabbed a whole fistful, almost leaving nothing left. She popped one in her mouth and offered some to Cat—and only Cat, who accepted it, giggling like a child.

A woman in a red uniform with the words 'The Royale' sewn onto the back came to help us.

"We're here for the Vegas 777 rooms," Sikowitz told her.

"Oh!" the woman looked surprised. "Well, Brandon over there can help you to your special rooms." She pointed to a small man waiting by one of the two arching doorway. "I hope you all enjoy your stay, and have fun!"

The bellboys who had our luggage were already by Brandon; as if they knew we were part of Vegas 777.

"Are you the lucky kids here for the Vegas 777 program?" Brandon asked when we approached him.

"First, we're not kids," Jade corrected in a seething tone.

"Yes, we're here for that," Sikowitz interrupted, shooting Jade a warning glance.

"This way. You know where to go, right?" Brandon said to the bellboys, who nodded, because we all couldn't fit into one elevator, although it was much larger than ones I had been in before.

As we entered the elevator I was surprised to see that it was a forty-story building, and when Brandon pressed one of the buttons, we rocketed up to the thirtieth one.

This floor was extremely nice. Once again, there were mirrors on the walls, which were gold-colored, and the ground was covered in a plush carpet. We followed Brandon to one _very _long hall with only three doors, spread at least two hundred feet apart.

"These are your three rooms," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out three cards and giving them to Sikowitz, ignoring the confused looks on our faces. How big could the rooms possibly be? And why were they so spread out? "Your baggage will be up in a few minutes. And let me just say you are all very lucky kids to have these rooms." He left with a wink in his eye.

"We are not kids," Jade snarled under her breath.

"So why don't we decide on whose with who?" Sikowitz said, ignoring Jade.

"I'm with Beck," Jade announced before anyone could say anything. She walked over to her boyfriend and held him in a hug. "Because he's the reason that you're all here at this moment and I'm his girlfriend and we need to spend some time together."

"Okay," Sikowitz said, looking a little unsure. "Then would you like to go with Cat, Tori? And André and Robbie can be with me, if that's all right with you boys."

"That's fine," André said calmly.

Cat danced over to me and grabbed me in a tight hug, not letting go.

"All right then," Sikowitz said happily, handing out the keys. "I'll check up on you guys in ten minutes and then we can head back to the airport to get your luggage, Tori."

I took the key and Cat and I went over to the door at the far right. Sikowitz, André and Robbie were in the middle, and Beck and Jade were on the complete opposite side of the hall. I inserted the key and pushed the door open.

My jaw fell to the ground and Cat was dead silent.

There were two king-size beds pushed up against the far right wall, and a master bathroom. Beside the beds were a wooden oak nightstand with a fancy lamp and a PearHome. But I was absolutely shocked to see that there was a full-out pool that took up the majority of the room. There was a short two-foot tall fence around it, probably to prevent people from falling in accidently.

"Oh my god," I whispered, unable to move.

"Yay!" Cat screamed suddenly. "A pool!" She ran over to it and opened up the gat leading into the pool area. She dipped her finger in the water excitedly. "Wow, Tori, come and feel this!" She splashed in her whole hand, sending water across the clean tiles that surrounded the pool.

I walked through the gate and knelt by the side, putting my hand in. The water was nice and warm, but not hot, like a Jacuzzi.

"Dang, what kind of hotel has swimming pools _in their rooms_?" I said softly.

"I want to go swimming!" Cat exclaimed.

"Okay, wait for our luggage to get here," I said. "You did bring like a bikini or something, right?"

Cat nodded furiously, getting up and dashing into the bathroom. "TORI!" she screamed.

"What?" I ran over to the bathroom, thinking to find a dead body or something. But all I saw was the gleaming white tiles and the huge Jacuzzi set in the middle of the room. _Jade is going to be _jealous, I thought. The shower was on the left and the toilet was on the right. I went to investigate both, finding that there were four different knobs and nozzle heads in the shower, and a telephone right next to the toilet.

"I want to go in the Jacuzzi!" Cat started climbing up the steps even though the cover was still on. I grabbed her arm.

"Hold on, Cat," I warned. "Can you wait a few minutes?"

"Okay, Tori." She sped out of the bathroom and I could hear her laughing as she jumped on one of the beds.

_This is like the coolest hotel ever_, I thought, lifting up the cover to the Jacuzzi and peeking at the steaming hot water.

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><p>André's POV<p>

I was actually completely cool with having Robbie and Sikowitz in my room. Not so sure about Rex though.

We picked the room in the middle, because it looked like the biggest, since we had three people. Sikowitz opened up the door, and after we were all went inside I thought I was in a dream.

There were two king beds on the right side of the room, a door that led to a huge and beautiful bathroom, and in the middle were two curved black leather couches around a glass coffee table. But then I looked on the left side, and I suddenly understood why everything was so far pushed to the right.

Taking up the entire left side of the room were two bowling lanes.

Yep, I said bowling lanes.

The pins were already set up at the end, and I noticed the couches and coffee table were facing the ball return. On the opposite side of the room were three shelves with different sized bowling balls and more couches and seats.

"This place is loaded!" Rex shouted, his voice echoing.

"A bowling alley? This is so cool!" Robbie set Rex down on one of the couches and rushed over to the shelf of bowling balls. "You wanna play a game, André?" he asked eagerly, picking up a shiny blue ball and testing its weight.

"Well, well, well, I wonder how much these rooms cost," Sikowitz said, shaking his head in pure awe. He sat down next to Rex. "No wonder these rooms are so big. I wonder if the other two groups have something like this in their rooms. I think I'll go check on them." He got up and left us.

I decided to get a bowling ball for myself and set up a game for us.

Just as I sent my first ball spinning down the slick alley, I couldn't help but think how amazing this trip was going to be, no matter what happened.

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

Beck had his arm on my shoulder as he led us all the way down to the other end of the hall. I wondered briefly why the rooms were so far spread apart, but my question was soon answered when I came into the room.

Of course we had the two king-size beds and the master bathroom, but Beck had discovered that there was a DJ station and dance floor, which would probably explain why the room looked quite bare. He pressed a button somewhere and the odd-shaped tiles on the floor lit up in different colors, and hidden lights in the corners of the room came to life and flashed everywhere. I even found a fancy bar, the fridge behind it already full of beer, cocktail drinks and martinis.

"This is the coolest thing ever," Beck said, jumping down from the DJ booth and grinning at the incredible light display in lighting up our room. "This place is big enough to have a party. And not the small kind."

I laughed and pulled him into a kiss, falling onto one of the beds.

Just then, there was heavy knock on the door.

Beck leaped up and ran to open the door. "Oh, hi Sikowitz," he greeted, running a hand through his fluffy hair.

"Hello, Beck." Sikowitz stepped into our room. "Wow, that's a very nice dance floor you've got there," he said, admiring the flashing colors. "We have a bowling alley, and Tori and Cat have a pool and Jacuzzi."

Jacuzzi? I never thought I would get jealous over Tori.

Sikowitz looked around for a few moments before going into the bathroom. I heard him clear his throat nervously.

"What's the problem?" I asked, walking over to him with Beck close.

He was staring at the shower, which was at least thirty feet long, but the doors were all glass. Perfectly see-through. He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guys, I'm not really comfortable with you two being alone, but I trust that you'll be okay." He continued to stare at the clear door uncomfortably. "And please make sure you close _all _the doors when you shower." He pointed to the white main doors of the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes and Beck gave a nervous laugh. Come on, that was common sense wasn't it?

"So Jade, I need you to come with me, Cat and Tori to the airport," Sikowitz said, turning to me.

"No!" I didn't want to go.

"You are coming," Sikowitz said firmly. "It's your fault that we have to go in the first place." I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, and Beck, when the luggage comes, can you help André and Robbie bring it to Tori and Cat's room? For some reason, it's not here yet."

My boyfriend nodded.

"Let's go, Jade," Sikowitz said.

I sighed, gave Beck one last kiss and followed my teacher out of the room.

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><p>Trina's POV<p>

Right afterschool I headed to the airport. It was about 3:30 when I got there, so I hurried to get my car parked and paid that special fee before I went to get my luggage checked in and go through security. My flight was at 4:30, and I realized that Tori and them had left school at about one, which meant that Cat had given me the wrong flight number. But I was okay with it, since then it means that they would already be in Vegas and I wouldn't have to worry about them catching a glimpse of me.

I boarded the plane at five because it was slightly delayed. I had to sit near the back with some random strangers, but luckily there were no little kids anywhere to bother me, like that last flight I had gone on with Tori.

I tried to sleep for the entire flight, so I wouldn't get distracted, like trying to sneak into first class and see which celebrities were on this flight, but it was pretty hard to stay asleep with all of the background chatter and annoying whirr of the plane engines.

So here I was, my parents thinking that I was spending the night at someone's house, when I was actually heading to Vegas. _Trina Vega, you are one smart chic_.

It was at six that we landed, only half an hour late, not that it really mattered. I was waiting for my luggage by the luggage carousel when I saw a _very _familiar redhead bouncing up and down with a group of strangers.

Cat? What was she doing here?

I reached into my purse and slipped my sunglasses and hat on, in case she came over and noticed me. I willed my bag to appear faster, or at least so I could get it before Cat saw my luggage, because I knew she would recognize it immediately.

I ducked behind some people, and saw Cat talking to someone I now recognized as Sikowitz and Jade. Jade looked different at first, probably because she was actually smiling for once as Cat jumped up and down in front of her. And of course, Sikowitz's odd way of wearing clothes I could notice a mile away.

Then I saw Tori. She was grabbing something from the carousel—it was her own luggage. What was it doing on my flight? But then I saw her go back to Jade and Sikowitz, who was frowning at Jade. I noticed that Cat was no longer with them.

"Um, excuse me miss?" I turned around and came face-to-face with the redhead.

My palms went sweaty, and I tried to stay calm. _Yes, Trina, because if you panic now then everything will be blown_, I thought. So I improvised, something that every great actress should be able to do. "What do you want?" I asked in a slightly British accent.

"I was wondering if you saw…" she stopped, staring at me hard. I looked away quickly, trying to disguise myself better. Her eyebrows raised up and I could tell she was thinking. She said, "You look a lot like one of my friend's older sister."

"Oh really?" I asked, "Well, I do get that a lot." I mean, I'm sure with my good looks I could easily be mistaken for a celebrity.

"You get told a lot that you look like Tori's older sister?"

"Never mind," I said in a fake disgusted voice. I started to walk in a different direction, Cat watching me curiously. I was a good distance away when I looked back, and saw that she was back with her group and that they were leaving.

I breathed a sigh of relief and went to get my luggage.

_That was a close one_.

I took a cab to The Royale, using cash I got from an ATM machine using Mom's credit card. I had figured out the pin number as one that my family always used for passwords and such. The signature was easy enough to fake. But my ID was a little harder, so I decided to use my school one, changing the name to 'Holly Vega' with some whiteout and a label maker.

When I arrived at The Royale, I kept my cool, even though I was completely astounded by the beautifulness of it. I was immediately certain that this place would be able to accommodate my needs.

I stood in line and got a room, on the twenty-eighth floor. Apparently, the 'special' rooms, like the ones with Jacuzzis and indoor pools and bars started on the thirtieth floor, but I couldn't afford one of those without giving myself away. And the lady who was helping me kept giving me weird looks when I paid with 'my' credit card.

I brought my own luggage up to the twenty-eighth floor. There was a mix of different hallways that all looked exactly the same. It took me a while but I finally found my room.

I opened up the door, and was greatly pleased by what I saw.

There was only one bed, but it must've been three times the size of the bed I had at home. The walls were painted a nice creamy color, and there was a little nightstand next to the bed with a fancy clock on it. I walked across the soft carpet, looking into every nook and cranny I could find. The closet was a walk-in one, and I saw the fancy robes with the words 'Royale' sewn onto them in fancy gold lettering. There were a few couches spread around the room, each looking as inviting as the next. I smiled in satisfaction, continuing the walk around.

The bathroom was completely white, with a shower and a separate bathtub. I arranged all of my toiletries on the marble counter and leaped onto the bed, sinking down into the soft material.

_Now this is going to be a fun vacation_.

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><p><strong>I'm not even sure if it's possible to use a school ID with a credit card, so please correct me if I'm wrong or whatever. I try to get the facts right for the most part, but you know...mistakes happen.<strong>

**And might I just say that hotels like The Royale really do exist...somewhere. ;) The ideas for the rooms came to me after watching a TV show featuring these crazy nice hotel rooms, so I just took the best ones I can remember and put 'em here.**

**So do you think the story is kind of boring so far? I'm certainly not bored while I'm writing it, but you guys probably have different thoughts. Tell me in a review!**


	5. Day 1: Candy Stores and News Studios

****Yay! Day 1 in Vegas!****

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><p>CHAPTER 5 -DAY 1-<br>Tori's POV

I was yawning while I waited in the lobby of the hotel with my friends. Cat didn't go to bed until 4 a.m. because she was so excited to use the pool. I warned her not to drown while I tried to go to sleep, but of course, her loud splashing and giggles kept me up the entire night.

Sikowitz had gone back up to the rooms because Beck and Jade weren't down yet, and he seemed surprisingly paranoid about it. André and Robbie were discussing some sort of bowling tactics, and I was very glad to see that Robbie had left Rex upstairs, claiming that the puppet wanted to sleep in. Cat was still full of energy and was bouncing around even though she only got about four hours of sleep.

"Hey, look, there they are!" Robbie said suddenly.

I turned around and saw Sikowitz guiding Beck and Jade towards us, both looking like they had just woke up.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Jade whined.

"Because if you want to have a look around Vegas, then you have to do it now. We're going to the news casting station right after lunch, and who knows how long we'll be there," Sikowitz explained. "Let's eat so we can go shopping."

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><p>The breakfast buffet was very delicious, and Jade was too sleepy to be mean to me. When we were finished, we went back to our rooms and got our purses and stuff (well, the guys got their backpacks and Robbie had a 'murse') and we went out onto the streets, where it was already quite warm.<p>

"Where do you guys want to go first?" Sikowitz asked, pulling a map out of his pocket.

"Can we just walk around?" André asked, "If we see something we like, then we can go there."

Everyone agreed, and we were off, walking down the bustling streets of Las Vegas. The first thing we saw that perked our interest was a discount jewelry store that both Cat and Rex wanted to go into.

"I gotta buy something for my Northridge girls!" Rex exclaimed when we all gave him a weird stare.

"All right, but don't take too long," Sikowitz said resignedly.

Robbie and Rex went into the store, not looking embarrassed in the least. Cat went in too, and she had somehow managed to drag Jade in with her. Beck, André, Sikowitz and I waited outside.

In about fifteen minutes all four of them came out. Robbie was holding a small paper bag with the store's name on it, and Cat had a nice new necklace around her neck. She kept pulling at Jade's hand, who was giving her no reaction and looking grumpy.

"What did you get?" Beck asked Robbie curiously, a mischievous grin on his face as we started walking again.

"Got a couple of bracelets for my girls," Rex informed him.

"And what did you get, Cat?" I asked the little redhead.

"I got this necklace," she said, pointing to the little pendent on the end of the silver chain around her neck, which was in the shape of a heart. "And I got Jade a matching one, but she doesn't want to wear it." She put on a pouty look.

"Why not, Jade?" I turned to my frenemy. "Your best friend bought it for you."

Jade shot me a death glare but said nothing. I continued to pester her until she finally said, "Fine! Just shut up, Vega, okay? I'll put the stupid thing on." Cat handed her the matching necklace and Jade quickly put in on, tucking it behind her shirt.

"Yay, Jade! Now we match!" Cat wrapped her arms around her best friend. Jade rolled her eyes, but she didn't seem to mind.

We walked around for an hour or so, coming across the wackiest stores I've ever seen. There was one that sold just products of bacon, like bacon-flavored gum, bacon-scented soap, and bacon candy. There was also a supposed haunted house that gave free tours every hour, and of course Jade wanted to go in, so Sikowitz let her. Jade brought Cat and Beck with her, because everyone else chickened out, but Cat looked absolutely traumatized when they were done while Jade looked like she'd had the time of her life.

And then we came to the biggest candy store I've ever seen.

It must've been three stories tall, and the outside was brightly colored with designs and decorations of different candy brands. Cat was jumping up and down like a little kid, the haunted house visit forgotten, begging to go inside. I didn't argue with her. I was pretty interested in seeing it for myself.

We went in through the double doors that looked like sugar glass, and my mouth hung open in shock.

I'm not even sure how big the first floor was because the shelves piled with bags and boxes of candy were tall enough to hit the ceiling. Tons of people were milling about, especially adults with little kids, and even teenagers. The workers, I assumed because they were wearing candy cane patterned shirts and jeans, were walking around, with samples in their arms, passing them out.

"Good Ghandi," Sikowitz murmured.

"Oh my god, yay!" Cat screamed, rushing to the nearest worker with samples and trying some.

"Dang, this is a nice candy store," André whispered.

"Hey look, Jade," Beck said suddenly, pointing to a large shelf in one corner that only had dark-colored boxes on it, "your favorite candy." Jade's eyes widened and she left us to go over to the shelf.

"What candy is that?" I asked Beck when she was out of earshot.

"Exploderz," he replied. "They're shaped like bombs and dynamites and grenades and when you bite into them there's this red sugary stuff that explodes in your mouth." He looked at my awkward expression. "They're actually really good," he laughed.

"Okay, well, I think I'll take a look around." Sikowitz nodded at me and I wandered away from the group. I took a look at the tall shelves, seeing the most unheard of candy: Gloober Goods, Pea Nuts, Silver Bars, and a bunch of other weird things. I picked up a few samples of candy, surprised to see that they all tasted quite good.

I was in this section where all the candies were shaped like musical instruments where I met André, drooling over a keyboard-shaped piece.

"This is totally legit," he said, carefully picking up the plastic-wrapped candy. "I gotta get some of these." He picked out a few more, like a drum set and two different guitars. "We have got to check out the second floor." He shoved his candy into the basket I didn't even realize he was holding and dragged me over to the escalator. As we made our way up, I looked down at first floor, suddenly realizing how big it was. I managed to catch a glimpse of Jade, holding a rather large black box, and Beck was laughing next to her.

The second floor was just as amazing as the first. I didn't even know it was possible to have so many different types of candy in one place. On this floor, the bins on the shelves were clear with scoopers and bags to put in as much as you wanted. André and I walked around, taking more samples and browsing. I got a basket and was piling it full of new candy. We eventually found Robbie and Rex in the gingerbread section.

"Check this one out," Rex said, pointing to a woman gingerbread.

"Hey, Robbie," André said as we walked over. "This place is pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah it is," Robbie replied enthusiastically. He picked up his basket off the floor, showing us its contents. To my amazement and slight horror, it was filled with gingerbread women.

"Really, Rob?" André asked, looking worried.

"What? I like gingerbread." Robbie shrugged.

"But just _women_ gingerbread?" I took a piece out of the basket and waved it in his face.

Robbie turned bright red and said, "They ran out of men." I cleared my throat, crossing my arms. The shelves were stocked with both men and women gingerbread. "Okay fine. They're for my mother, and I think she would freak out if I sent her just a bunch of gingerbread guys." I rolled my eyes at his pathetic excuse.

"Well hey, did you check out the third floor?" André asked.

"Nope, we were just in this section," Robbie said, gazing longingly at the many gingerbread stacked on the shelf in front of us.

"Then let's go check it out," André suggested. Robbie picked up his basket, Rex sitting on his arm at an awkward angle, and we made our way up the escalator to the third and final floor of the candy store.

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

I was actually in a really, really good mood. Beck was following behind me, his own basket filled with candy. I was just carrying around a box of my favorite Exploderz, and I couldn't wait until I got to eat them. Hmm, that was kind of weird. Jade West, getting all excited over candy? That's something Cat would do.

Speaking of my best friend, Beck and I were trying to find her. We were wandering around the second floor of the building. I'm not sure where everyone else went, but Sikowitz had told us to stay in the store, so I'm sure they were around here somewhere.

"If 'oo were Cat, where would 'oo go?" Beck asked around the huge jawbreaker in his mouth that he had gotten from one of the workers.

"I don't know," I replied. "This is a _candy store_, and Cat is practically a child. So if you were still a little kid, where would you go?"

Beck looked and me for a moment and said, "Evy'air."

I nodded in agreement, grabbing his free hand and dragging him around the store. I was really considering calling her, but too lazy to take my phone out. Fortunately for me, Beck found her before I had to take drastic measures.

"Hey, Cat," I said calmly as we walked up to her.

"Hi!" she said back with unnecessary enthusiasm. I saw the basket in her hands filled to the top with a ton of random candies.

"Are you really going to buy all that?" I asked.

"Of course! I love candy!" She turned back to the shelf and grabbed more bags and stuffed them into her basket.

"Why 'on't we 'o an' try ta 'ind de utters?" Beck said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He swallowed loudly and shook his head. "Wow, that was some good candy. But I said, 'Why don't we go and try to find the others?' We should probably head to lunch soon because we have to be in the studio by one and it's almost twelve."

"Fine. Come on, Cat."

We went down to the first floor and Beck helped Cat with her candy at the register. They came back with three big bags and my Exploderz box.

"Call André," Beck suggested.

I took my phone out and dialed his number, but he wasn't responding. I rolled my eyes. "Why the heck does no one answer their phone anymore?" Beck shrugged, and Cat had wandered off again, leaving her things with us.

But we wouldn't have to wait any longer as I saw Tori, André, Robbie and Rex coming down the escalator.

"Where's Cat?" Tori asked them as she came over to us.

Beck pointed in one direction, because I wasn't interested in talking to Vega.

"Okay, so we're all here but Sikowitz," André said, looking around. "Does anyone know where he might be?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"I'll call him," Tori offered, taking out her phone. "He gave me his number when we got here." She brought the phone up to her ear and we all waited. Nothing happened. Tori looked slightly outraged and I grinned at the sight of it. "He's not picking up. Geez, why does no one pick up their phones nowadays?" Beck and Robbie cracked a smile at her reference. I rolled my eyes.

"Well we can't just wait here all day; we have to be in the studio in an hour!" Robbie exclaimed.

"If you were Sikowitz in a candy store where would you go?" Beck asked.

We all were silent as we thought. Suddenly, we exchanged quick glances and said in unison, "The coconut section!"

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><p>Sikowitz's POV<p>

My basket was heavy with coconut-flavored candy. I had no idea there were coconut M&Ms, or Hershey bars with coconuts on the inside. This place was like my own personal heaven. I was looking at gummies with 'coconut filling' when I heard someone call my name.

"Sikowitz!"

"That's me," I responded, turning around and six teenager standing there looking at me. "Well, hello. Have we met before?"

"Sikowitz, we have to go," Jade spoke up. "We have to be at the studio in an hour."

"Oh, all right."

I followed the teenagers—who I recognized to be my students— down to the first floor, where everyone paid for their things and we proceeded to leave the store. I got us a few cabs and they drove us to the news studio.

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

The news studio was a rather short building, but its outside was lit up, even though it was only the afternoon. There were some beefy-looking guards standing on the outside, and we walked up to them.

"We're here for the Vegas 777 thing," Sikowitz said calmly.

"Right this way." One of the guards opened up the big doors and we were quickly ushered inside before the door closed behind us, leaving us in a rather dark hallway.

"Hello, hello!" A voice boomed in the passage.

We all looked up to see Mr. Jeffrey Highes, in an expensive-looking black suit, walking towards us with a big grin on his face. "Hello, hello!" he repeated.

"Mr. Highes," Sikowitz greeted like they were old friends, "what a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, sir, you too," Mr. Highes said, shaking hands with everyone. He seemed like a nice man, in his early forties probably. "Welcome to the LV: Daily Reports news studio!" He threw his arms out, still smiling at us. I was seriously wondering if he was the same, awkward person we had seen on the video. "Would you like to take a quick tour?"

"Yay!" Cat clapped her hands together excitedly.

"I'll take that as a yes." Mr. Highes winked. He motioned for us to follow, but no one moved. Sikowitz was looking at us, waiting obviously. Jade pushed me to the front. I gave her an angry face, and she smiled innocently at me. "This is just the front hall, and I'm not really sure why we have it. But it has to stay clear at all times, mind you." We all followed behind him slowly, and he laughed. "Come on, I'm not going to hurt any of you." I exchanged a nervous glance with André.

Mr. Highes led us to the end of the hall. "This door leads to our green room. I'm sure you're all familiar with what a green room is, right?"

"Yes sir," André replied when no one else said anything.

"Loosen up, you guys," Mr. Highes said, laughing again. "You can't be on TV if you're going to be as quiet as that." Everyone perked up immediately. He let us into the green room to put our bags of candy down. "So if you follow down this way with me, we have the makeup and changing rooms." He led us into a large room with stalls lined up by the walls and swivel chairs in front of fancy mirrors with light bulbs running along the edges.

"We have something like this at Hollywood Arts," I said, remembering the time Cat had taken a makeup class and I had visited her in the makeup room.

Mr. Highes nodded, let us look around for a couple minutes, and took us out into the dark halls again. "Here are a few other rooms, but these are mostly for the technical crew that work with us." We walked down a couple more halls. "Ah, here we go. The MCR, or master control room. In here is where we do the actual broadcasting of the show. Well of course, first the recordings go through the PCR, or production control room before coming here." The MCR was filled with a bunch of technical things that lit up, beeped and had a ton of switches.

We also saw the PCR room, which was full of even more complicated-looking things.

"And I've saved the best for last," Mr. Highes said, stopping at a heavy-barred doors, with a dimmed 'On-Air' sign at the top. I heard Cat squeal quietly, and my heart was thumping loudly with excitement. Mr. Highes pushed the doors open, revealing the beautiful studio.

There were the two 'islands' set in the center of the stage, which was surrounded by huge professional cameras. Beautiful wood paneling was covering the floor and the tops of the islands, and lights hung from the ceiling. Behind the islands were several TV screens that were currently blank.

"Welcome to the main filming stage," Mr. Highes boomed, his voice echoing in the currently empty room. He walked over to the islands and sat down on top of one of them, grinning down at us. We were all frozen at the door at the sight of the room. "Well, don't be shy, come on over here!"

Jade pushed me forward _again_, and I glared at her, but didn't hesitate to walk into the bright lights next to Mr. Highes. My friends looked at me as I stood next to the billionaire, grinning at them.

"Well," Mr. Highes said, crossing his legs and picking up a piece of paper from the wooden counter, "I've got six positions that I need to be filled in, and I think I know which ones will be the best for each of you." He hopped down, gathering us in a circle in front of the main stage, a gleam of excitement in his eye. "So you ready to hear who's doing what?"

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><p><strong><strong>Okay, before you tell me this was a boring chapter...well, this is supposed to be a comedy story too...so figure it out.<strong>**

****And sorry if the last part seems kind of rushed, but I wanted to end it with Mr. Highes asking the gang if they were ready to find out who would be doing what, and the candy store part ended up being a lot longer than planned.****


	6. Day 1: Assignments

**Yes, unfortunately this is kind of a filler chapter, but I wasn't planning on the previous chapter being as long as it was, so I had to put what was supposed to be there in here, and added extra stuff to fulfill my goal of 3,000 words per chapter. :)**

**Read, laugh, review.**

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><p>CHAPTER 6 -DAY 1 continued-<br>Tori's POV

"I have a position for two anchors, two field reporters, a weather reporter, and a sports reporter," Mr. Highes said, reading off the paper. He glanced up at us, our eyes shining with excitement. "You," he said, pointing to Cat, who beamed at being noticed, "Would you like to be our weather reporter?"

She started jumping up and down, grabbing one of Robbie's arms, saying, "I got chosen to be the weather person! Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! Yay!"

Mr. Highes's eyebrows wagged around pleasingly, and there was a strange grin on his face. "Why don't you uh, go through those doors over there, little missy? Someone should be waiting there for you, and if not, well, just wait there." He motioned for Cat to the side of the room opposite of where we had entered.

"Kay kay!" she shouted, rushing out the big doors.

There was a resounding echo in the room as she left. I was slightly worried for her, because we had not come through those doors and no one knew what was behind them, and Mr. Highes, at the moment, didn't seem like a very trustable character. I looked at my friends, and they seemed to be having the same idea.

"You there," Mr. Highes said, pointing at Jade now. He stepped forward, his arms hanging defenselessly at his sides, his emotions flat. He was practically nose-to-nose with Jade, who obviously didn't like it. Her mouth turned from a worried grimace into a complete frown. "Would you like to be a field reporter?" he said in her face.

"I would if you'd get out of my face," she yelled back.

"Excellent." Mr. Highes's mood changed significantly, becoming much bouncier than before. "Go through the door your friend went through earlier, and you should find someone who will help you out."

Jade glanced at Beck uneasily before making her way to the door.

As soon as it was shut, there was silence of several seconds and then a loud crash and a scream. I jumped up and Beck rushed to the door. Mr. Highes doubled over in an obnoxiously loud laugh, and Beck wrenched the door open, revealing Jade standing there, incredibly pale, with sand scattered on her hair, clothes, and littering the smooth floor around her.

"What happened?" Beck asked, pulling her into his arms protectively. He glanced into the dark hall awkwardly, possibly trying to find Cat.

Mr. Highes was still laughing like a maniac, and we all exchanged frightened glances. Why was he acting so weird? I warned myself to be careful around this man.

"I opened the door, took a step, and tripped over something," Jade seethed, spitting sand out of her mouth. I fought to keep in an amused laugh of my own. "And then, a bunch of sand just falls down on me!"

"Well are you okay?" Beck tightened his grip around her.

"Yes," she said through her teeth, looking over at Mr. Highes. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

Mr. Highes stopped laughing abruptly, not even smiling anymore. "No, of course not, miss. I think some of my other workers might've set that up for me, actually." He brushed off imaginary specks on his suit and walked over to Jade, who tensed up immediately. He offered her his hand. "Come with me. I'll show you to the bathrooms."

Jade did not accept his hand but slowly eased away from Beck and followed the billionaire out of the room, muttering curses about sand as she went.

As soon as the doors closed, we erupted into chatter.

"Where'd Cat go?" Robbie asked.

"Why do you care so much about that chic?" Rex retorted. "At the airport you were all askin' Jade if she was pickin' up her phone and now—"

"I don't know where she went," André interrupted Rex. Robbie glared at his puppet. Beck was still standing by the door that Cat had disappeared behind, and was looking into the dark hall in front of him.

"I don't even see any rooms," Beck called, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Careful, Beck," Sikowitz said. "Don't go anywhere you're not told to." His mouth mashed into a hard line.

"I'm not really sure about this Mr. Highes guy," I admitted, leaning towards André.

"I know right?" André responded as Beck retreated towards us. "That video you showed us, Sikowitz, he seemed so much more awkward! But geez, if I didn't recognize his face, I would think he was a completely different person!"

"Yeah," Robbie agreed, getting back into the conversation.

"You know what, kids?" Sikowitz interrupted, "I think that Mr. Highes is—"

He was cut off as the man himself came back into the room, his arms swinging at his sides enjoyably, a whistle in the air. Jade was not with him. Beck stepped up to him.

"Where's my girlfriend?"

"She's getting herself all cleaned up," Mr. Highes waved him off, turning to André instead. "Good sir, how would you like to be field reporter number two?"

"Oh, uh, sure," André replied, a little bit hesitantly.

"Excellent." Mr. Highes pointed to the door that Cat had left behind, which was wide open still. "Exit through there, mister, and make sure you close the doors behind you, please."

"Sure," André said coolly. He rushed over to the doors and closed them behind him.

"And then there were three," Sikowitz murmured.

"Hello, sirs," Mr. Highes said as he approached Robbie and his puppet. "Mr. Puppet, would you like to help host this show?"

"Yeah, buddy," Rex replied smoothly. "But you call me a puppet again, I'll call you somethin' worse."

I was shocked that _Robbie _would say something like that to a billionaire, but Mr. Highes didn't seem to mind in the least. He shook Robbie's free hand saying, "Good then. You'll both be hired as the sports reporters. Ha, it won't cost me any extra anyway." He gestured for them to leave the room.

"Thanks, Mr. Highes!" Robbie exclaimed, heading away.

"Yeah, I think I woulda been better in the anchor spot," Rex yawned as the doors closed behind them.

"So that leaves you two—" Mr. Highes hopped up and down once "—as our anchors, if that's all right with you. I can tell from the vibe I'm getting that you both are very comfortable in front of a camera, or audience in general."

I nodded excitedly and Beck grinned at me.

"Excellent!" Mr. Highes seemed very happy. "So why don't we all go this way?" He led us to the exit, Sikowitz following close behind us. He opened up the door and we came into the dark, empty hall. I did not see any of my friends anywhere. "This way." Mr. Highes directed us to a big room, and I was surprised to see everyone in there, all sitting around a large round table.

"Hi!" Cat squealed. Weirdly, she was sitting on Jade's lap, who looked none to thrilled, but at least had all the sand out of her hair and most of her clothes. When Jade saw me, I could tell she had a look of envy in her eye when she realized Beck would be my co-anchor.

"All right everybody, gather round, gather round." Mr. Highes pounded his fists madly on the table. We all quickly stood up around the circular table. Mr. Highes leaned forward, like he was about to tell us something very top-secret. "How many of you would like to hear the game plan for the rest of the day and tomorrow?" he asked.

"Me!" Cat said.

Mr. Highes leaned in a little more and began, "Okay, so first we'll start with the tutorials…"

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><p>It was probably about 8:30 p.m. when we finally got back to the hotel. We lugged our candy bags to the elevators and into our rooms, completely exhausted. We had received a quick rundown of what happens while the show is being filmed, such as where to look to read the script and what happens when the show is experiencing technical difficulties. I was pretty nervous for tomorrow, but it's not like I could back down or anything because the 'usual' cast of reporters were on a convention somewhere in Idaho, and although it was never safe to not have any backups, the crew were familiar enough with the schedule to pull it off if we couldn't. And lucky for me, "LV: Daily Reports" only reported once a day, unlike most other news stations.<p>

I threw myself onto a bed while Cat went to change so she could go into the pool or something. I didn't know how she could possibly have that kind of energy. Maybe it was just because her 'weather reporter duties' weren't nearly as stressful as being one of the anchors. Mr. Highes promised that everyone would have a chance to do all the positions at some point though.

I lifted up my head just in time to see Cat in her bikini running into the pool area and throwing herself in, splashing loudly. I stuffed a pillow onto my face to try and block out her giggling.

Suddenly there was a heavy knock on the door. I groaned and got up to get it, finding Jade standing there with a Royale robe on.

"Jade, what are you—" I began, but then Cat appeared right next to me.

"Jade! The Jacuzzi's over here!" she said, pulling her friend into _our _room and dragging her to the bathroom.

"Wait, what?" I followed closely behind them.

"You're obviously not using the Jacuzzi," Jade said, taking off her robe and stepping into the bubbling water. "So I'm going to use it."

I narrowed my eyes at Cat, mostly for letting Jade into our room, but I left them in peace and went back to my bed. I was planning on taking a nap, except Jade and Cat started yapping like crazy, so that wasn't really such a good idea. Finally I decided to go see André.

I grabbed my phone and headed towards the door. "Hey Cat, I'll be in André and Robbie's room, okay?"

"Kay kay!" she shouted back.

"Whatever," Jade said.

I rolled my eyes and went out into the empty hall, firmly shutting the door behind me. I admired the small picture frames lined up on the walls as I made my way down to André and Robbie's room. I knocked on the door a couple times.

Robbie opened up the door, smiling at me.

"Oh, hey Tori," he greeted, pulling the door a little more to let me in.

"Hey, Robbie," I said, stepping into their room. It was huge, probably a half-size bigger then mine and Cat's, but that was because the bowling alley took up more than a third of the room. I saw André sitting on one of the curved leather couches, his laptop in front of him. He looked up at me.

"Sup, Tori?" He put the laptop next to him and got up. "What are you doing here?"

"Jade's in my room with Cat," I said, "using our Jacuzzi."

"Oh cool. Can I come over too?" André asked, dead serious.

I narrowed my eyes, and he laughed, saying, "I'm kidding, Tori. So you must've come here to play some bowling, right?"

"Sure," I answered, tossing my phone onto one of the couches, which landed next to Rex, who was sitting there with a Coke in his hands. Robbie set up a game at that little control station by the ball return and André directed me to pick out a couple of bowling balls on the shelves in the far back. We got the game started, no bumpers, with André getting a strike on his first bowl.

"Wait, isn't Sikowitz supposed to be in this room?" I said, assessing the lane carefully.

"Yeah, but he went to the front desk to complain about the vending machines not having coconut milk or something," André informed me, laughing a little. I laughed with him.

"So are you guys ready for tomorrow?" I asked, sending my ball down the lane and knocking down a pitiful four pins. I joined André on the couches.

"Sort of," André said. "I'm still not too sure about that Mr. Highes guy. I don't know what it is, but the way he acts…it just makes me a little nervous, you know what I mean?" Robbie was up to bowl, and he was mumbling some sort of good luck chant under his breath. I rolled my eyes and looked back at André.

"Aw, no!" Robbie shouted suddenly. I glanced over and saw that he had a split.

"Yeah I know what you mean," I said, continuing our conversation. "You're field reporting with Jade, right?"

"Uh-huh," André sighed. "That's going to be fun."

"It should be," I said seriously. "That's the whole point of this trip, right? Go to Vegas, be on TV, and get noticed!"

"Ha, yeah." André got up and bowled, getting a spare this time. I went, and got fouled out. We sat down on the couch again.

"You know, I wonder how Trina's doing," I said thoughtfully. "She must be so jealous that I'm here while she gets to stay at school still…"

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><p>Trina's POV<p>

I had spent the entire day in The Royale. It was such a big hotel, I needed to make sure I went and looked through every nook and cranny of it, and anyway, I didn't want to be spotted by any of Tori's friends; I had heard they had gone to the news studio to get their assignment for Vegas 777. Hmm. Maybe I should've gone with them.

But I had discovered a pool on the first floor that was as big as my house, with water slides and Jacuzzis and everything. Then I had gone and seen the stores, shops, and amazing restaurants as well as the hotel's own buffet area. The Royale also had a baseball/football field in the back, a full gym, spa and massage room, and a whole bunch of other fancy stuff I didn't know hotels were capable of affording. There were plants everywhere, especially around the paths and walkways, making a nice atmosphere. For all I knew, the Royale might have an underground theme park or something.

I lay down on my soft hotel bed, staring up at the plain ceiling. My hand patted the blankets beside me, trying to locate my orange PearPhone. I finally found it, and I brought it up so I could see it. I sent Tori a text.

_What'cha doing in Vegas now, Tor?_ –Trina

_Oh, hi Trina. I'm bowling with André and Robbie._ _Robbie is winning. :P_ –Tori

_They have a bowling alley at the hotel? Is it like, private or something?_ –Trina

On my little exploration around the hotel I did not seen a bowling alley. Maybe they had gone somewhere that had one.

_Uh, no. André and Robbie's room has a bowling alley inside it. I actually wish you were here to see it. Hold on, lemme take a pic. _–Tori

I waited a couple seconds and my phone beeped to let me know that I had a message. I looked at my text and saw a dim picture of Tori, André and Robbie squished onto the little screen, standing in front of a two-lane bowling alley, all of them laughing. I was incredibly jealous. I bet that's the sort of 'special' things that were in the rooms starting on the thirtieth floor that I couldn't afford. What a shame. I'm sure I deserved them more than my sister, anyway. She got here because of Beck. I snuck out of the house and carefully planned my trip here.

_I'm so jealous of you I'm going to stop texting you. TTYL, sista. _–Trina

_Oh, all right. Fine. Wish me luck. :) I think this game belongs to me now! Ha! Love you too. TTYS. _–Tori

I threw my phone back in the folds of the white blanket. I sighed, still looking up at the ceiling. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was about 9:00. I rolled off the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I quickly adjusted my hair to make sure I looked outstanding, and got my things together to take a quick shower.

When I first turned on the water, I didn't realize that the showerhead on the side would come on too, and I ended up spraying practically the entire shower area as I tried to get it under control. Oh well. It was worth it, and water dried anyway.

I got wrapped up in a towel and a fluffy Royale bathrobe and went back out to the bed. I sat down on the edge, grabbing my phone in my hands and dialing home.

"Hello?" my mom's voice answered.

"It's Trina," I responded, leaning back on the blankets.

"Oh, hey baby. How are things with Molly?" she asked.

"We, uh, just saw a movie. It was pretty good, very funny," I improvised quickly. "We're still at the theaters, actually."

"Oh, well that's good."

There was a brief silence, and I said, "Molly's here now, Mom. I think we're going to see another movie." I took my ear off the phone and made a soft bickering noise, making it seem like I was talking to someone else. "Yeah, that's great Molly. Let's go get some more popcorn first." Then I acted like I came back to the conversation. "Sorry, Mom, gotta go. Love you."

"You too, Trina."

I hung up, sprawling across the bed, a happy feeling rising inside of me. Tomorrow, I would hit the streets of Vegas.

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><p><strong>Sorry if this was kind of boring, but I wanted to start a new chapter with Day 2, but I hadn't quite completed Day 1 yet, so I had to drag it over. I promise though, most 'days' will not be two entire chapters.<strong>

**Hope you liked it though.**


	7. Day 2: The First Broadcast

****Warning: There is a slightly mature reference for the name of a casino in this...so...I warned you younger readers.****

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><p>CHAPTER 7 -DAY 2-<br>Trina's POV

I was very ready to get out of The Royale. At seven in the morning, I got my things together and left the hotel. I would eat breakfast while I was shopping.

I trotted down the brightly lit streets, admiring all of the stores lined up by the sidewalks, the doors open, just waiting for me to come and buy something from them. For the next hour, I went in and out of different shops, ending up with a load of bags and boxes. I wanted to go back to the hotel to put my stuff down so I could come back out and shop some more.

On my way to the hotel, I stopped at a street corner, where two men were standing. They approached me before I could cross the street.

"Hey, girl," the taller one said to me.

"Oh hi there," I responded, trying to get around them, but the other guy blocked my way.

"You havin' some trouble carrying those bags?" the one in front of me said.

"Yeah, can I have some help?" I asked, shoving several of my bags towards them. "My hotel's just over there."

"Okay, baby," they said, taking my things.

We walked down the street until we were about a hundred feet away from the hotel entrance when my helpers darted down an alley with my things.

"Hey!" I yelled, looking after them. "Where are you going?"

"Just follow us, baby. We know a shortcut!"

_Shortcut? The hotel is right there_! I sighed exasperatedly and followed after them into the dark alley. "Hey! Slow down you, guys!" I was wearing four-inch heels and carrying a very heavy box of candy, and it wasn't easy walking fast.

"Over here!" one of them yelled.

I turned to the right, and saw light at the end of the new alley. I followed it, ending up on a not-too-busy street. I saw one of the men standing in front of a crowded building, and he was waving at me to come over to him. I hurried towards him.

"Hey, girl, you wanna hang with us for a little bit?" He gestured to the other man beside him, who had held my bags earlier. "We were just gonna go in here—" he jabbed a thumb at the building "—and have a little party. You wanna join?"

"Well actually, I want to go shopping some more, and I need to bring my stuff back to the hotel," I began.

"Come on, baby. Just chill with us for an hour or so," the man begged. "You look like you need it. I'll show you the best places in town here, baby," he laughed. "Damien! Take sunshine's bags over here." He snatched the box out of my hands and gave it to the man named Damien. "You can call me Hawk, baby. Now come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd to the entrance of the building.

My dad, being the cop he was, always told me not to go with strangers, especially the crazy ones. But these guys weren't crazy; they had helped me with my things after all. As I went into the building with Hawk, I didn't realize that it was a notorious casino/strip club: Chips and Dicks.

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

Oh my god, today was the day of our first broadcast! We arrived at the studio at 7:00, even though we were broadcasting at 8:00. Mr. Highes was there, waiting for us, dressed in a crisp blue suit with a red tie, grinning at us broadly. He directed André and Jade towards the makeup and dressing rooms, because they needed to get ready quickly so the crew could take them out into the 'field' while the rest of us gathered in the green room, with some of the other crew members.

"Miss Tori and Mr. Beck, go to the dressing rooms to get your costumes and makeup," Mr. Highes said, seeming incredibly professional all of a sudden. "Robbie and Cat, go to the stage to get a heads-up of what you'll be reporting on."

Everyone left the room quickly. Sikowitz had gone with Robbie and Cat, so I was left with Beck. We walked down the complex maze of dark halls before finally finding the right room. André and Jade were there, getting ready to leave. They both looked very nice. Jade gave Beck a quick kiss before they were ushered out.

A woman sat me down in one of the chairs before putting some makeup on my face. She handed me a button-up shirt and blouse to get changed into, while another woman was working feverishly on Beck's fluffy hair. He gave me a small grin when I walked past him to the stalls.

In about twenty minutes, we were done. Beck was looking very handsome in a suit similar to Mr. Highes's, and I thought I didn't look too bad in my button-up and blouse. We went to the main stage floor, meeting Robbie and Cat on the way there.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are so pretty!" she exclaimed. "Well, I mean, you're handsome, Beck," she giggled. Beck laughed and we kept walking.

Someone directed us to sit on the beautiful stage. I took the right, and Beck sat on my left. I looked down at the papers scattered on the desk-island, swallowing nervously. The lights were incredibly bright, and wherever I looked all I could see were cameras and crewmembers running around to get ready for the airing, which was in about half an hour.

"You okay, Tori?" Beck asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just kind of nervous. No, I take it back, I'm really nervous," I admitted, looking down at my shaking hands.

"You'll be fine," he encouraged. "Just think of it like being in a theater, in front of an audience. Except the audience is basically everyone in Vegas who watches the news." He smiled.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. Someone came up and helped get us comfortable under the lights and in the awkward chairs. Beck left to use the bathroom, and I got off the stage, feeling my adrenaline pumping. I went to the green room, and found that it was completely empty. I calmed down there for about ten minutes before returning back to the main stage. Beck was in his seat again, and someone was re-adjusting his hair. I walked up and sat down next to him.

A man came up with two glasses of water for us. I took one and sipped it, my eyes still darting around. Someone came up and did something to the TV screens behind us; there was a loud popping sound that made me jump, sending my water all over Beck's suit.

"Oh geez, I'm so sorry, Beck!" I yelled, reaching over and trying to rub the water stains out. It vaguely reminded me of what happened on my first day at Hollywood Arts.

"Vega!" a voice shouted suddenly.

I turned around and saw Jade on the screen behind us, holding a microphone to her mouth. She was standing in front of noisy construction site.

"Vega!" Jade repeated.

"Wait, can she see us?" I asked one of the crewmembers frantically. They nodded, pointing to one of the main cameras below the stage. I took my arm off Beck as some crewmembers came up to fix his shirt. "Well, hi Jade!"

"You spilled water all over my boyfriend! And you were rubbing on him! _Again_!" Jade yelled, her eyes glittering angrily.

"Yes—wait, you saw that?" My face went gray. A door slammed, and in came Robbie, Cat, and Sikowitz. Cat was wearing an outfit similar to mine, and Robbie looked like Beck. Even Rex had a suit on. They waited by the doors, smiling up at us.

"Vega! I'm going to kill—" Jade was cut off because the screen went blank.

"We go on air in two minutes!" someone said.

"Two minutes?" I said shocked. I looked at Beck, and could still see some of the darker parts of the jacket that the water had stained. More people came up and helped touch-up our makeup and someone had a blow dryer they used on Beck.

Mr. Highes came up himself and gave us some more words of wisdom, his outrageously excited mood coming back. I straightened myself up, pulling the papers on the desk together and glancing down at the main camera, the little screen underneath lighting up with green words. Beck cleared his throat nervously.

The main person behind the big camera started the countdown: "We're on air in five, four, three, two…"

I took a deep breath. "Hello and welcome to 'LV: Daily Reports.' My name is Tori Vega," I read from the screen before my co-anchor took over.

"And my name is Beck Oliver," Beck added calmly. He put his hands together on top of the desk. I was jealous at how natural he seemed. "So for today, we'd like to tell you about…"

We continued reading the green words underneath the main camera, talking about the different stories for the day: charities going 'bankrupt,' several murders and suicides, missing people, and just news in general. Occasionally we would switch looking at the cameras, something I found a lot more difficult than I had thought, as I would briefly get confused with the lines I was supposed to say. My hands, which I kept for the most part underneath the desk-island thing, were shaking wildly, but my voice was smooth and steady.

"After this commercial break, we'll be going to Cat Valentine for the weather," Beck finished.

"We're off air now, people!" the main cameraman yelled. "Five minutes until we're back on!"

My hands shot out from under the desk and wiped my forehead quickly. Cat was standing in her position near the stage in front of a large green screen. Sikowitz, who was hiding behind some camera crew, waved and grinned big at us.

"Thirty seconds!"

Everyone got prepared to go back on air.

"Five, four, three, two…"

"Welcome back, and now here's Cat Valentine with the weather," Beck said, a huge smile on his face. The cameraman waved his hand in front of the camera, signaling us that we weren't being shown on TV. I sighed with relief and slouched back down in the chair.

"Hi! I'm Cat Valentine!" Cat exclaimed, waving furiously at the camera. She paused, staring hard at the camera like she couldn't remember what to do. "Oh! Well this week it looks like we'll be having another dry spell here in Vegas," she said calmly. The green screen behind her was not labeled at all, but Cat started pointing to different areas randomly as she spoke about the weather patterns, and I was ninety percent sure that she was pointing to the completely wrong cities and areas. A crewmember waved his arms, trying to get her attention.

"Huh?" Cat stopped reading the script, staring at the crewmember.

Beck smacked his forehead.

"Oh, you don't want me to point anymore? Wait, why not?" I grabbed my hair, feeling so embarrassed for her. This was live on public television! "Oh, because I'm pointing at the completely wrong cities? Oh, okay!" Cat smiled again. She stood there, looking around lazily.

"Cat!" the crewmember hissed. "Keep going!"

Cat jumped up, gave a small apologetic smile to the camera and continued to report the weather. Beck slumped in his seat, his hands in his face. Things were getting worse, and I later realized that Cat had started a chain reaction of mishaps.

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

It was uncomfortably hot sitting there on the main stage, especially since Cat kept messing up. Watching her report the weather was extremely painful, as she kept communicating with the crewmembers behind the camera, which was something we were told to avoid at all cost when we were being filmed.

Finally, _finally _Cat was done. The cameras switched back to us, and I put my game face on.

"Um, thank you for that wonderful report, Cat," Tori said in a tense tone.

I squinted at the screen for a moment and then said quickly, "And now we'll go to one of our field reporters, Jade West, who is at a construction site."

We turned around to watch the TV screens behind us, where we could see Jade's performance, while the audience would be watching her directly.

The first thing I noticed what was wrong was that Jade wasn't even looking at the camera. Instead, she was turned around, her microphone hanging at her side, and I could hear her yelling at someone.

"Get out of the way! I'm doing something on TV!" my girlfriend screamed. There was a very mumbled response and she said back, "No! This is my job, not yours! No, you can shut up, mister!"

"Jade," a calm voice from behind the camera said, "you're on air. Right now."

"Huh?" Jade spun around, revealing the homeless man behind her, crawling away. "Oh, hello. I'm Jade West, out here. In the field." She smiled, but I could tell she was embarrassed. She went on to say that the building was going to be built sometime soon into yet another Vegas casino.

"And now back to Beck and Tori," Jade finished.

I straightened up while Tori said, "Thank you for that report, Jade. We'll go to another commercial break, and when we come back, Robbie Shapiro will give us the breakdown of the sports."

"We're off air!" Mr. Highes shouted, coming up to the stage with us. "Excellent job, kiddies. I think I'm going to go speak to your friend, though." Mr. Highes left us to go and talk to Cat, who was still as bubbly as ever. When she was the man coming towards her, her face fell, and I saw Mr. Highes's mouth moving a mile a minute. I couldn't read lips, but I could tell that whatever Mr. Highes was telling Cat it was not good, because her face got sadder and sadder.

"That was so embarrassing," Tori said to me.

"I know, but she was so adorable doing it," I sighed.

Tori shot me a strange look.

"What? You'd think this was a comedy show instead of a news report," I said, quickly changing the subject. Tori laughed.

"Yeah, and Jade is certainly not going to be happy that she was on air while yelling at some homeless person," she said. I smiled, wondering how my girlfriend would be when she got back to the studio.

"We're going on air in thirty seconds!" someone yelled.

"We are almost done with the show, only a few more segments left," I whispered to Tori.

"On air in five, four, three, two…"

"Welcome back! It's about 8:45 a.m. right now, and we'll go to Robbie Shapiro and, uh, Rex Powers with the sports report for the day," I said into the camera.

Robbie was in another room, but Tori and I turned around to watch the TV screens behind us. Rex was sitting on Robbie's arm, and both of them were looking carefully at the camera. Robbie wasn't holding a microphone, but there was one hooked onto his shirt, probably because he couldn't hold one and Rex at the same time.

"Hello, I'm Robbie Shapiro."

"And I'm Rex," the puppet butted in.

"Yes, and we're going to go through a quick rundown of some of the teams here," Robbie said, turning around to the screen behind him, which showed a complicated chart of statistics and team names.

"But there ain't no real teams here in Nevada, 'cause you Nevadicans are all too lazy to put your own together," Rex interrupted.

"Rex!" Robbie scolded.

I looked at Tori, and then Mr. Highes. The billionaire was looking quite shocked, and I glanced back at Robbie, who was still struggling to continue with his report of the _minor _teams in Nevada.

"Haha, well now I can see why you guys ain't got no profresh teams! Even your minor statistics _suck_!" Rex laughed raucously.

"Get the puppet off screen now," Mr. Highes said through his teeth. His mood change was very abrupt.

Someone rushed to the room, staying out of the camera shot, but you could hear them say, "Quick! Give me Rex!" But Robbie chose to ignore the man and continued giving the report, with Rex continuing to interrupt with rude comments.

"Are the 51s named after Area 51? Wow, that's so creative," Rex said sarcastically about the minor baseball team. "I think the 'U.F.O.s' might've been better."

"Shut that puppet up, Robbie!" Mr. Highes bellowed, disappearing to find Robbie.

"I'm not doing anything! He is!" Robbie protested on the screen.

Someone waved at me, pointing to the main camera. I looked at the little screen with words and quickly said, "Now we'll go to André Harris with another report in the field."

The TV screen changed to André. He was playing a keyboard with some other random musicians on a street corner. What the heck? What happened to the reporting?

Meanwhile, Mr. Highes was yelling agitatedly at Robbie and his puppet in the other room.

André was playing a very catchy tune on the piano, and some of the other musicians, the trumpet player, started singing loudly into a microphone. People were walking by and putting money in an open guitar case.

"What is he doing?" Tori hissed to me. "Raising money for a charity? Well, actually, that wouldn't be too bad though..."

"I don't think they know they're on air," I whispered back, "Robbie's report ended too early. They're not ready yet." I assumed that André had found the musicians performing, and being a great one himself, wanted to join in.

Finally, after five tense minutes, André and the crew realized that they were being broadcasted. Very apologetically, André rushed to do his report, with the band still playing behind him.

And then the camera came back to us.

"Thank you for watching, and you can catch us again tomorrow, same time. I'm Tori Vega," Tori said.

"And I'm Beck Oliver," I said, "See you all soon!"

"And we're clear!"

I let out a sigh as Mr. Highes came stumbling back into the room, his face burning red.

"You can all go back to the hotel," the billionaire huffed angrily, "I'll call you late for your new assignments. Just please leave." He left the room quickly.

"Well, that was very interesting," Sikowitz said as he took me, Tori and Cat to the makeup room to change back into our usual clothes. "We'd better go find the others. And then everything can explain what the _bug_ they were trying to prove by messing that broadcast up."

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><p><strong>And there is the first broadcast! I hope you liked it, and I'm really sorry if it's not anything like a 'real' broadcast, but that's as close as I could get without studying regular news shows for weeks. Tell me what your favoriteleast favorite part was!**

**Yep, kind of left it with a cliffhanger with Trina...ooohhh boy I wonder what's going to happen to her. But remember, this story is and will remain K+, so get those dirty thoughts out of your head. :)**

**Oh, and if the last part seemed rushed or something: sorry, but there wasn't really much for me to say without going into a lot of boring detail.**


	8. Day 3: Flashbacks and Suspicions

**I had nothing else to do...so here's the next chapter! By the way, the italicized part is a flashback. :)**

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><p>CHAPTER 8 -DAY 3-<br>Trina's POV

Yesterday was one of the craziest days of my life. I had spent practically the entire day in the casino, and those people really knew how to party. Hawk and Damien got drunk within the first two hours, along with practically every other guy there, and I knew that I had made a bad move by following them into that club.

I sat down on my bed in the hotel, still feeling exhilarated from the past few hours.

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><p><em>"Haha, can we get another round over here?" Hawk shouted, waving around his empty beer bottle, hooting wildly along with the crowd of people surrounding him. I hovered by uneasily. Damien had disappeared an hour ago with some very pretty young ladies, and I wondered why he would want to be with them when he had me. His loss, I guess.<em>

_ "Hey, Tarnie," Hawk said, coming over to me. He looked like a pig now, even in the dark lights of the club. Drool was hanging out of the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were glazed over._

_ "My name is not Tarnie, it's Trina," I muttered, briefly remembering Shawn, the hot senior who had also called me that a lot._

_ "Yeah, baby, whatever." Hawk took another sip of alcohol and his hand dropped back down to his side, but then he shoved it towards me. "You sure you don't want anything to drink, baby? You ain't thirsty or nothin'?"_

_ "No, I just want to go back to my hotel now," I said, not wanting to hang around any more._

_ "Why?" Hawk almost dropped the bottle he was holding. "We haven't even gotten to the fun part yet."_

_ "Well, can we just skip to that part? Because I'm bored and I want to go back to my hotel."_

_ "Ooo, we got an eager one over here." Hawk laughed, and I took this as a good sign. "Hey, Isaiah and Butch, come on over here!" He waved his empty hand in the air and two men, easily twice my weight, approached us. "Boys, meet Tarnie here, and she's very excited to get it on."_

_ "Aw really?" one of the men said, shooting Hawk a jealous glance. "You always get the girls who wanna go all the way as soon as possible, huh? Well geez."_

_ I don't know why, but I was starting to feel immensely pleased at the moment. _

_ "Well hey baby, if you want to get your stuff, follow me." He gestured to follow him and I did, unaware of the people shuffling around us. Isaiah and Butch were right behind me._

_ We came to the door of a room, and Hawk opened up the door, allowing me to go in first. I obliged and stepped into the darkness. I heard the three other men come in behind me, the door closing quietly. _

_ "So where's my stuff?" I asked. _

_ The lights flickered on. Hawk was standing in front of the door, Isai__ah and Butch on either side of him. The front of Hawk's shirt was suddenly unbuttoned exposing a slightly stained white t-shirt, and the beer bottle that was in his hand earlier was sitting on the floor next to his feet. _

_ I looked around the room. There was a weird smell in the room, and there was a large bed in one corner, and that was it. The sheets on top of it were ruffled, like someone had just come in here. There were no windows, and the walls were colored a sickly white. _

_ Hawk approached me slowly, __Isaiah and Butch staying by the door._

_ I backed up until I hit the side of the bed. _

_ "Why don't you just hop on up there, and everything will be smooth from there, huh baby?" Hawk said slyly. "You two—get out." Isaiah and Butch hurriedly left the room._

_ "Oh, are we going to take a nap?" I asked, sitting back on the bed. _

_ "Uh, sure, baby." Hawk sat down next to me, coming very close. He put a hand on my leg. _

_ "You know I really should be going though," I said, realizing what he was trying to do. I still didn't know where the things I had bought earlier were, but that didn't matter any more. __I started moving towards the door, but Hawk got in my way. _

_ "No, don't leave now, we were just getting started." He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. He dragged me back to the bed, putting me on it and hovering above me. His face was close to mine: I could smell the alcohol on his breath and see the lust in his eyes._

_ "Uhm," I said uncomfortably. _

_ He leaned down to kiss me at the same time I heard the sound of a zipper opening. My hands shot up and I pushed him off of me. I leaped off the bed and ran towards the door._

_ "Hey, where you going?" he asked, standing up and looking shocked. I could see that the front of his pants were unzipped, and swallowed the disgust in my throat._

_ "I'm not kissing any guy who smells like that," I said back._

_ "No no, don't go." Before I could get out of the room, he raced over and slammed me into the wall. He put his hands on my hips and tried to kiss me, but I turned my face so he ended up just slobbering all over my cheek._

_ "Ew! Gross," I muttered, bending down and grabbing the first thing my hand could feel. _

_ It was the beer bottle from earlier, and I smashed it down on his gelled hair. _

_ "OW!" he bellowed, falling backwards, holding his head with his hands. _

_ I wrenched the door open, running out of __Isaiah and Butch's way and fleeing. I could heard Hawk shouting again, and thundering footsteps close behind me. _

_ I turned down a hallway that had a bright light at the end, and came to a huge room that was glittering with lights from lottery machines and a stage with dancers on it. I looked behind me and briefly saw Isaiah, his legs a blur as he pounded towards me. I ran forward, accidently colliding with a particularly big lottery machine, knocking it over. It tipped onto the next one, but didn't start a chain reaction. I heard yelling from workers and other party guests as I seemingly interrupted whatever was going on._

_ Butch had somehow caught up to me, and I felt a rush of air as his hands reached out to grab me. I gave him a sharp kick in the gut (courtesy of my karate lessons) and went in the other direction. _

_ I saw a few steps and ran up those, not realizing that they led to the stage. I was suddenly in the bright lights with a bunch of dolled-up women in tiny dresses. There was a gasp from the crowd below, and I tried to stay calm. I saw Isaiah down there, looking around for me furiously, and Hawk appeared, a lump the size of an egg appearing on his forehead. There was a shout, and both men were looking right at me. _

_ I tried to stay calm and started to do an improvised dance, hoping to blend in with the rest of the ladies on the stage, but unfortunately for me they had stopped dancing. Either they were trying to give me the spotlight (which I didn't mind at all), or they were confused of what to do. I thought fast and raced down the steps I had come up, running through the crowd again._

_ More shouts were heard and I saw some people that looked like security guards coming at me. I wheeled around and headed in the opposite way, running straight into Isaiah. _

_ He grabbed me, holding me tightly while trying to get back to the room we were just in. My hands flailed around and I shouted loudly, trying to get him to put me down, but the sounds of partying and the dancing resumed, so I could not be heard. _

_As we started to go down one of the hallways, I spotted an arcade machine with a handle jutting out of the side and grabbed it as we passed by. Isaiah staggered, trying to pull me away from it, but I held on tighter._

"_Let…go…" he grunted, just as the handle broke off. Isaiah went flying backwards, and me, still holding the handle, got up off the floor and ran. People were yelling, trying to grab the girl who was breaking all of the expensive machines. I went down an aisle with all these colorful and old arcade games, when Hawk popped out of nowhere._

_ "Let's go back to the room," he pleaded, his eyes showing sincerity for once. "We can hang out here later."_

_ "No!" I said, backing up into a dusty machine._

_Hawk's eyes changed immediately to a darker tone, and he charged at me. I spun out of the way. He came in contact with the machine, sending it backwards. Sparks flew from the electric outlet that plugged it into the floor. The machine hit the wall before exploding in a shock of dust and zapping noises. I took my chance and dashed away._

_ More people were looking in my direction, trying to figure out what was going on. I left Hawk there, darting down a hallway, and with my luck, at the very end was dimly lit green sign that read 'Exit.' I hurried over to it and opened the door, coming into an empty back alley. I made a smooth trip back to my hotel, my adrenaline pumping and empty-handed._

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>When I came to my room, I went to sleep for a couple hours, waking up around 7:50 a.m. I remembered that Tori and her friends would be on the news at 8, so I turned on the flat screen TV and went to the right channel. I was too lazy to do anything else, let alone go anywhere. I was still trying to recover from my recent adventure.<p>

I laid back on the bed and tuned in to the show.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

I was very pleased to be an anchor for the show today. Mr. Highes had called Sikowitz yesterday afternoon to tell us our new positions: Tori and Cat were field reporters, Beck was the sports reporter, André was the weatherman, and lo and behold, crazy puppet dude was my co-anchor. That was the one thing I was not happy with. After all, it was mostly his fault that our first broadcast had gone wrong: well, no, everyone messed up too.

I knew the moment they had put Vega with my boyfriend that things were going to go wrong. She spilled water all over him right before they aired, and I totally caught her rubbing on him…_again_. I swear, that girl really wanted to end her life early, didn't she?

Cat, even as adorable as she was, messed up big-time with the weather. I mean, how could you possibly mess something as simple as telling the audience it was going to rain the next day? But I have to admit, it was pretty funny watching her interact with the crewmembers, and I'm sure the viewers had no idea what was going on.

André had claimed that the musicians on the street corner invited him to play with them, so he did, and the camera crew was just filming the action. It wasn't really his fault, as they switched to his report too early because of Robbie's screw up.

Speaking of Robbie, I couldn't believe he would try and be that stupid. We were on _live _television and he lets his puppet diss all of the sports teams, claiming that _he _wasn't doing anything but Rex was.

Well, Mr. Highes was stupid too for even letting that dang puppet onto the show, but I guess he didn't know what kind of attitude Rex has.

I'm not such a nice person all the time and even I'm admitting that Rex shouldn't have dissed all the sports teams the way he did. Well, that's probably because I could've come up with better comebacks, but whatever. I'm surprised Mr. Highes is letting Robbie back, but actually, he did ban Rex after all.

We arrived back at the studio at seven, everyone feeling a little less stressed out than yesterday. I got extra makeup on since I would be on camera for the majority of the show this time. Robbie was looking very glum in the dressing rooms, and Mr. Highes was obviously avoiding him.

At 7:55 I went up to the main stage, sitting where Beck was yesterday and Robbie sat in Tori's seat. I was actually very comfortable up there, but Robbie seemed to be shaking like a cornered mouse. I hoped he wouldn't do anything dumb that would leave me to take over practically the entire show by myself.

"We're on air in five, four, three, two…"

I put on my best not-scary Jade smile and looked into the main camera. "Hello, my name is Jade West and I am going to be your anchor for this broadcast."

"I'm Robbie Shapiro." Robbie's voice was shaking miserably.

I kicked him under the desk. The fake smile on his face drooped immediately. "Act like a man," I breathed quickly before saying, "So today, we're going to start off the show by going to our two field reporters, who are right now outside a casino, that last night was vandalized a little bit."

We turned around to the TV screens, seeing Tori and Cat smiling at us in front of a flashy casino that was roped off with yellow police tape.

"Thank you Jade," Tori said, and I smiled sourly back at her. "Well, as you can see, this casino, called, uh…Chips and Dick—" I laughed at the name "—experienced some interesting events yesterday.

"There was a usual party going on, and one of the guests were acting supposedly very drunk, knocking over several of the lottery machines, interrupting one of the biggest night performances, and almost blowing up an arcade game."

"Yeah," Cat added. "The suspect is a female, and now we have a chance to interview one of the workers who witnessed most of the event." She turned to a short woman standing next to her with hair that looked like it had been attacked by a tiger. "This is Gale, and she works at…the casino. So can you tell us what exactly happened?"

"Well," Gale said in a very squeaky voice and taking the microphone from Cat, "It was just a normal night, but then there was this girl who came out of one of our rooms and was running really fast, like she was trying to get away from someone, and sure enough, a man, one of our regular customers, comes out with a huge lump on his head.

"Him and his two other friends started chasing the girl, and some of our guards tried to stop them, but then the girl got crazy and just started knocking over some very expensive lottery machines." She frowned. "Then she got on the stage and interrupted one of the night's biggest dances, and broke another machine before she ran out of the place.

"Right now we're trying to figure out who the girl was, because she needs to pay for the things she broke," Gale finished.

"Do you want to tell us what the woman looked like?" Cat asked. "So in case any of us see her around we can report her to the police?

"Yeah sure, that would be really helpful if you could do that," Gale said quickly. "So the girl had brown hair, and brown eyes. Her hair was longer than shoulder length with these highlights…and um, she wore these really big high heels. And…" she trailed off, looking around as if she would remember something. "Hey! You!" she pointed at Tori.

"Yes?" Tori came closer to Gale.

"The girl kind of looked like you, except more mature, I guess, and a little bigger," Gale said, studying Tori's face. "So, if you see someone who looks like this girl, but more mature, then that's the person we're trying to find. We'll try and get a picture out to the public in an hour or so.

"Thank you!" Cat squealed. Tori was hovering right next to her, her eyes shifting around anxiously and it looked like she was thinking hard. "And we'll go back to you, Jade and Robbie!"

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

Cat and I wandered around the front of the casino for a while before the camera crew told us to get into the van so we could go to our next location. Apparently, there was one more place for us to report on, so we were heading down their while our friends did the usual things back at the studio.

On the way there, I was beginning to get very suspicious. Ever since Gale had called me out, saying that the suspect looked a lot like me, I was beginning to wonder.

I knew that Trina was supposed to be at one of her friend's house, but I also knew that she was incredibly jealous that I got a chance to go to Vegas and be on TV. But there was no way she could've gotten here—unseen, at least. And anyway, she didn't have the kind of money to stay here.

We arrived at our new field post and I got out of the van with Cat, preparing for our next report, still thinking about the things Gale had said.

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><p><strong>Hmm, lots of questions now right? If you wanted to hear more of the broadcast, sorry. :'( This chapter was mostly for Trina because we haven't really heard too much about her adventures in Vegas yet, have we?<strong>

**Anyway, review and tell me if the writing is okay and everything! :)**


	9. Day 3: The Facts

**Oh geez. I am so sorry for not updating sooner. But I had some serious writer's block in getting all 3,000 words for this chapter in, and then I was working on my other story ("You Don't Know Me" if you like Jori or Bade I think you'll like that one too).**

**So, I apologize profusely for not getting this done quicker.**

**But here it is now. I know it's kind of a filler, and you guys waited a long time for it too, but it's the best I got at the moment. Since I'm practically done with my other story, this one will be updated quicker.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>CHAPTER 9 -DAY 3 continued-<br>Tori's POV

The broadcast for the day was over, it having gone exceptionally well. We planned on making reservations at a restaurant for dinner, and just hanging out at the hotel for the rest of the day.

Cat had gone with Jade and Beck to take a quick shopping trip, and I was alone in my hotel room. Next door, I could hear excited shouts from André and Robbie's room even through the walls as I assumed they played another game of bowling. I had eaten room service lunch a while ago, and I could still smell the leftovers where they sat on its tray by the door. I sat down on my bed, PearPhone in hand.

I was just starting to check out when it said I had an incoming call from Dad.

"Hello?" I said in a cheery voice, tapping a button and putting him on speaker.

"Hey, Tori," he responded. "How are you doing? I haven't heard from you for a couple days, and your mother and I are wondering what you're up to."

"Oh," I laughed, "Well, everything is doing great. I really wish you were here to see The Royale. It is like the nicest hotel in the history of hotels." I chuckled. "Mine and Cat's room has a pool and Jacuzzi, André and Robbie's has a bowling alley, and Beck and Jade's have a dance floor."

"Wow that sounds nicer than the hotel I went to in New York that one time," my dad interrupted before I could continue talking. "And that place's rooms were like the size of our house."

"That must've been expensive," I commented.

"Well, that's also what I wanted to talk to you about," my dad said in an awkward way.

"Wait, what's wrong?"

"Judging from what you just said, I'm gonna guess that those hotel rooms were probably _very _expensive indeed," my dad. I was still confused and he continued. "And yesterday I checked out our credit card bills and…" his voice trailed off considerably and there was a dead silence.

"What's up, Dad?" I asked, getting worried.

"Well," my dad said, trying to resume his usual professional tone, "our bill says that we spent over three thousand dollars for a hotel room in The Royale."

"_Three thousand dollars_?" I said in disbelief. "Are you kidding? That's crazy." But then again, that did seem reasonable considering how amazing the rooms were.

I could picture my dad shaking his head as he stuttered an apology into the phone, but I cut him off. "No, Dad, I didn't spend anything on a room. All of the costs were covered with the Vegas 777 program, unless someone stole my credit card number."

"All right, because I thought you guys might've wanted to rent out an extra room or something. But I'm sure you would've asked me first right?"

"Absolutely, Dad," I said, nodding profusely.

"Well then, I guess I'll talking to the credit card company to try and get things figured out. So anyway, how's it been in Vegas? Fun? Exciting?" My dad seemed genuinely interested.

"_So _much fun," I emphasized, placing the phone on the bed next to me. "Our first broadcast went hilariously, especially since…" I gave my dad exact details on how everyone messed up. By the time I was done, he was roaring with laughter.

"But the one we had today went a lot better. I got to be a field reporter and do some reporting at a fancy casino."

"Very cool," my dad agreed. "And I hope you're staying safe…?"

"Of course, Dad," I assured him, still smiling. "I've only gone shopping, like once on this trip, but we might do some more later after we go out for dinner. And don't worry, I always go with a buddy."

I heard him chuckle and that reminded me of something.

"How is Trina doing, anyway? She must be very jealous of me," I said with a little grin.

"Oh, Trina? Well, I haven't heard from her really. Your mother talked to her a couple days ago and said she was doing okay, I guess. She's not back from her sleepover yet, but I think she'll come home later. You know, after school," my dad answered.

There was a knock at the door suddenly. I looked over at it as a voice said, "It's André, Tori! Open up!"

"And Robbie," another voice added.

"Hold on," I muttered into the phone and walking over to allow André and Robbie to come in. André holding his laptop and grinning excitedly, and Robbie didn't have Rex with him.

"Tori, you have to see this." André sat down on Cat's bed and opened up the laptop. Robbie sat down next to him staring over his shoulder at the screen.

"Shh." I put a finger to my lips and gestured to my phone. André put his hands up, like he was showing me that he was innocent and I smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, Dad, but it looks like André and Robbie have invaded my room."

"Well they better not be doing anything inappropriate," my dad said very loudly, and it didn't help that he was on speaker.

Robbie leaped off Cat's bed in confusion, looking around for where my dad's voice had come from. I pointed to it on my bed, and Robbie sat down, looking confused still.

"Don't worry, Mr. Vega. I'm staying appropriate," André called.

"That's a good man," my dad said. "All right, Tor, I gotta go do some paperwork now. I love you. Don't get into any trouble, okay?"

"Yes, Dad," I said. "Love you too. Bye."

"Tori, you have to look at this," André said again once I was off the phone. He gestured me to come and look at his laptop. I walked over to him and was about to take it when there was another loud knock on the door.

"Someone's at the door," Robbie announced unnecessarily.

I went and opened it, revealing Beck, Jade and Cat standing there. Cat's hands were full of shopping bags, and Jade was leaning into Beck as if they had been standing there for ten minutes.

"It's about time," Jade mumbled, pushing her way in.

"Oh, hey guys!" André called from his spot on Cat's bed.

"Hey, you guys are sitting on my bed," Cat pouted, looking around as if she didn't know where else to put her things, even though she had the entire room.

Robbie scooted over a little, patting an empty spot on the bed. Cat set her shopping bags down and sat next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. Robbie looked immensely pleased.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's LV: Daily Reports' main website," André informed them as Beck and Jade went over to see. "They've got a section for comments about how the Vegas 777 hosts are doing, and you guys need to see this."

"Hey, Tori, did you make reservations for dinner yet?" Beck asked me. Jade scowled when her boyfriend talked to me.

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, not yet. My dad just called me and I was talking to him."

Jade snorted loudly, hopping into Beck's lap, who was on André's other side.

"But I can make the reservations if—"

I was rudely interrupted by a loud squeal from Cat. She brought her hands to her mouth, giggling.

"What?" Beck asked, looking at her, his arms around Jade's waist. He glanced at the screen for a few moments, his eyes searching. Finally he started to laugh. Jade was interested in too, but when she saw it her face drained of color immediately.

"What are you guys looking at?" I went over and looked at the screen.

The website had a very nice layout, I have to admit. But at the very top were six pictures in boxes, each with one of us on it, and we were all making such goofy faces, they actually looked kind of cute.

I had my finger on my chin and was looking up, like I was thinking hard. André was holding a golden trumpet upside-down, a look of absolute confusion on his face. Robbie was holding Rex, and they were both looking at each other suspiciously. Cat had her hands in the air and her hair was poofed up like she was in mid-jump. Jade had her arms across her chest, a corner of her lip wrinkled up, and she was looking at the camera so intensely, it felt like she was really watching me. Beck had his eyes closed and he had his fingers in his mouth pulled back, so you could see all of his teeth.

On top of the pictures were the words 'Vegas 777.'

"Oh my god," I whispered.

"Haha, I almost don't even remember taking those pictures," André admitted. "Oh, geez, Jade. You almost as scary in this pic as you do in real life," he commented.

Jade responded by hitting André on the top of his head.

Beck laughed and André said, "I was kidding…sheesh…I thought we were friends…"

I went and sat down on my bed as the others were laughing obnoxiously loud at André's laptop. I wanted to see what was up with Trina. If my parents hadn't heard from her, I'm sure she would at least answer to me.

I picked my phone back up and quickly dialed Trina. I waited and waited for her to pick up, but she didn't. It went to her voicemail.

"Hey, this is Trina. I'm very sorry I can't get to you right now, because I'm sure you really want to talk to me. Leave me a message and I'll call you as soon as I can!" BEEP.

"Hey Trina, it's Tori," I said into the phone, "I was wondering where you are, because I uh, wanted to know how you're doing since I'm in Vegas and you're still back home."_Well at least, that's what I hoped for_. "Call me back ASAP. Bye."

"Oh, oh, click on that," Robbie said.

There was a silence, and suddenly there were faint noises coming from the laptop. Seconds later, they all burst out laughing.

"What is so funny you guys?" I asked, feeling left out.

André was shaking the laptop so much I thought he was going to drop it. Robbie was on the floor, and Cat wasn't even making any noise she was laughing so hard. Even Jade was smiling a little, and Beck had his face hidden in her back, his body shaking with obvious laughter.

I took the laptop from André, looking at the screen. There was a paused video on the screen, and the captions said it was part of the first Vegas 777 kids' broadcast.

_But wait…what's so funny_? I scrolled down the screen, realizing that there were already hundreds of comments for this one video.

_This has probably got to be the best group of kids for the program yet…I loved the first sports reporter and his puppet…made an excellent point….why doesn't Nevada have its own professional sports team? _–LuvThisShow

_Seeing that one girl telling a hobo off was so funny I think I passed out. _–xMarlox

_That Beck boy is very cute…does he have a girlfriend? If not, just give me a call, handsome! _–Iwantchu

The comments went on and on, with very few criticizing our performance. A lot of them had to do with the mess-ups that we did apparently being 'absolutely hilarious.' I felt suddenly extremely proud of my friends and myself. Surely some casting directors somewhere would have seen it how caring and fun we were…?

Everyone else had finally calmed down and André took his laptop back. Then I remembered that I needed to find out how Trina was doing.

"I wonder how Trina's doing," I said, unnecessarily out loud, hoping that maybe one of them might pick up on what I was trying to do.

"Who cares?" Jade replied, adjusting herself in Beck's lap. "You don't need to make an announcement like that to the world, Tori. You're wasting oxygen."

I shot her an angry look. That was not the reaction I was expecting, but then again, it _was_ Jade so…

"Well I bet she's really jealous that you got to come to Vegas and she didn't," André remarked, handing the laptop to Robbie, who took it eagerly, his eyes scanning across the screen.

"No, she's here," Cat said suddenly.

I almost gagged on my own spit. "Wait Cat…what did you say?"

"Trina can't be jealous of you coming to Vegas if she's already here," Cat said, a small smile appearing on her face.

_Hold the phone…what is Cat talking about_?

"What? Trina isn't here. She's at her friend's house," I said.

"But I saw someone who looked a lot like her at the airport when we went back to get your luggage," Cat persisted, her head resting again on Robbie's shoulder.

"And you never said anything before?"

Cat's face blanked out.

If what she had said was true, which there was a small percentage of that actually happening, then what had happened earlier with the newscast and Gale mentioning that someone who looked a lot like me, my dad saying Trina wasn't home from her sleepover yet, and he thought that I had spent three grand on a hotel room…

"There's no way, there's no way," I repeated, hitting my head.

"Tori, are you okay?" Beck asked, concern in his voice.

Jade hissed at him for talking to me. Talk about a jealous girlfriend.

André walked over and sat down next to me. "What's up?"

"Trina…" I whispered through shaking lips, "Trina _is _here."

"Are you sure you know what you're talking about, Tori? I mean, you know," in a lower voice he added, "Cat might just be messing around with you. You know how she is."

"No!" I said, a little too abruptly, standing up. André looked surprised, and everyone else looked over at me. "My dad just called, and asked if I spent three grand on a hotel room."

André's eyebrows shot up. "Three grand?"

I nodded. "And I didn't spend any of that money, because these rooms were already paid for, right?" They all mumbled a weak 'yes.'

"Oh that reminds me," Jade said suddenly. She hopped off Beck and reached into her back pocket, pulling out a shiny credit card. "Here you go, Vega."

My eyes were as big as saucers when I took the card from her. "You-you took my _credit card _and spent three thousand dollars on a hotel room?" I yelled in disbelief.

"Uh, no," Jade responded airily, going back and sitting next to Beck. "I found your credit card in the hallway and picked it up. So now I'm being a good person and returning it to you."

"I don't believe you," I said, shoving the card safely into my pocket.

"Then don't, Vega," she responded, starting to play with Beck's hair. "And stop blaming me for something I never did. You know they're cutting down rain forests all over the world that produce oxygen that you're _wasting_? So if I were you I'd shut up."

"You…you…you…" I couldn't even get the words out. Why in the world would Jade spend money on my credit card? My signature was easy enough to copy but how did she know the pin number?

"Stop mumbling. It's very distracting." Jade sounded very annoyed.

"Tori, calm down. I don't think Jade really spent all that money on a hotel room," Beck tried to defend his girlfriend.

"Then who would? Who else has access to my parents' bank account and is staying at a five-star hotel called The Royale?" I challenged, pulling desperately at my hair.

Silence.

"Trina might," Robbie said suddenly, "if she's actually here."

I turned on him, trying to stay cool and collected. "My dad called and said that Trina wasn't answering her phone, and she's not home even though it's Monday. I tried to call her and she doesn't pick up. This morning on the news broadcast, one of the workers at that casino says that the culprit breaking the machines looks a lot like me, but older. Cat claims she saw someone at the airport when we went back to get our luggage…"

"But that doesn't explain how she managed to get here," Beck put in. "She'd have to had stolen someone's credit card…"

"That's it!" I shouted excitedly. "She probably stole one of my parents' credit cards, because you know, she's always doing that sort of thing, and she bought a plane ticket to here using that, and then she bought the hotel room. That's why my dad thought I had spent the money instead! Yeah, that's what she did!"

I picked up my phone and dialed Trina again, as everyone (but Jade) crowded around me eagerly.

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><p>Trina's POV<p>

Lounging around in the hotel was pretty boring at the moment, especially since I didn't have one of those special rooms with swimming pools. I was surfing the Internet on my orange phone, listening to some music.

I'll have to admit, Tori and her friend did a nice darn job working on the broadcast this morning, but I do have to say that I probably could've outdone them without thinking twice.

But there was one thing they were talking about that really caught my interest.

When Cat and Tori were talking to that Dale person or whatever at the casino, they mentioned someone wreaking havoc and breaking many of the lottery machines. And then that person had gone and said that the culprit looked similar to Tori, but older.

I'm pretty sure they were talking about me.

_What rude people! They realize that someone is running away from three other guys, and the only one they pay attention to is the girl? What kind of world is this? In my opinion they should've done some reporting on Hawk, Isaiah and Butch. Not me_!

I was a wanted criminal now. Stuck here in Las Vegas, and no one else knew I was here.

Well that was awkward.

Suddenly, I jumped up in the bed as my phone, which was plugged into my earbuds, got really loud because someone was calling me. I wrenched the end of the cord out and looked at the caller.

Tori.

Again? She just called like five minutes ago.

Okay, I would answer a call from Mom or Dad, but not my baby sister, especially when she was probably only a few hundred yards away. I heard you could track a phone with a special app or something like that, and I did not want _that _happening, at least not now.

I kept as quiet as I could and did not answer. The phone eventually stopped ringing, and the message 'One missed call' appeared.

_That was a close one_, I sighed.

Little did I know, but things were about to get a whole lot worse.

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><p><strong>So how did you like it? Tori was kind of OOC for one part I think, but otherwise I think everyone else was okay for the most part. There was one section where it might be confusing because I said something like Tori got off the bed, and then she got back on, and off again, but I'm not really sure where she is at the end (there was like a month gap in between where I wrote that, so...)<strong>

**Anyway, review!**


	10. Day 4: Found

**Finally, finally updated! Sorry for the long wait, so I hope you find this chapter interesting!**

**Enjoy.**

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><p>CHAPTER 10 -DAY 4-<br>Tori's POV

It was a very early Tuesday morning, about 6:30 a.m., but I had to make a call to my parents. My dad, being a cop, would most likely be up, and it was him I needed to talk to the most anyway.

Cat was still asleep on her bed, completely hidden under a mound of white sheets. I walked into the bathroom so I wouldn't disturb her. I dialed my dad and waited, my heart beating loudly.

"Hey, Tor," my dad's sleepy voice answered.

"Hi, Dad, sorry if I bothered you. I didn't mean to but I have something very important to tell you," I rambled.

"Uh, sure. Go ahead."

"Did Trina come home last night?"

"No, she didn't. I figured that she was going to be late, but I just checked the garage and her bedroom, and she's not there. She isn't picking up her phone either." My dad sounded genuinely worried for my older sister.

"Well, that's because…uh, I think she's here. In Vegas with us."

"What?" All traces of sleepiness were gone from his voice. "You—you think she's in Vegas with you guys or has she been hanging out with you for the past few days?"

"I think she's here. You said someone spent three grand on a hotel room, and I think she stole one of your guys' credit cards to pay for it," I said, trying to remember everything I had learned from the previous night. "And Cat just yesterday told me that she saw someone at the airport who looked like Trina."

"Okay, well, you're still not completely confident that she's there, are you? Because I don't want to think about what could've happened to her, especially since she's not calling back…"

"I was planning on going down to the front desk and seeing if a Trina Vega checked in," I told him.

"All right, that sounds good," he replied. "You're mother isn't worrying much yet, but I won't tell her what you think has happened to her. Just call me back when you're one hundred percent sure that she's there, okay?"

"Absolutely," I confirmed.

"Okay, I got to go now. But keep me updated," my dad said.

"Bye! Call you back soon!" I whispered into the phone.

There was a click and he was gone. I left the bathroom and found Cat sitting straight up in the bed, her hair a mess of red strands. She rubbed her eyes and looked at me.

"Oh, is it time to get ready Tori?" she asked.

"No, not yet. You can go back to sleep. I need to go talk to Sikowitz really quick, okay?" I threw my phone on my bed and started towards the door.

"Kay kay!" she called back, and I heard the thud of her falling asleep on the bed again.

I walked down the quiet hall to André, Robbie, and Sikowitz's room. I knocked on the door three times and waited, looking down at the blue phone in my hands. The door opened, revealing André, his hair mussed up just like Cat's had been, and there was a green toothbrush in his mouth.

"Oh, 'i 'ori . 'or up ea'ly," he mumbled, letting me into the room.

"Sorry to bother you guys, but is Sikowitz awake?" I asked.

"Why, good morning Tori!" my teacher himself said, and I looked and saw him lying across one of the black leather couches, I guess in his pajamas still, but it didn't look much different than his usual wear. "What do you need? I promise I paid my taxes and everything."

I was slightly confused but quickly remembered why I was here. "Well, I just needed to tell you that I think my sister, Trina, might be here."

"You have more than one sister?"

"What? No."

"Oh well, then there was no need to tell me her name, was there? I know your sister. I've had her in my class for the past three years you know." He reached down over to the floor and picked up a coconut with a pink straw sticking out of the top.

I rolled my eyes. "Sikowitz, I'm trying to tell you something important here."

"And I'm listening, so do continue." He put the straw in his mouth.

"I need to find her and see if she's in this hotel. So I'm going to go down to the front desk and ask them about it," I told him, looking around the room.

On one of the beds had its sheets all open and messed up, telling me that André had probably slept on that one since he was in the bathroom right now. Robbie was in the other bed and had nightshade things on his face and was holding the pillow like it was his baby or something. Rex was right next to him, wearing matching pajamas.

"And you're going looking like that?" Sikowitz questioned.

"What?" I was just wearing sweatpants with hearts on them and a long sleeved top. "Why not? At least I'm wearing _something_."

"Still, you should wait." Sikowitz sipped on the straw again.

"But this is really important! This is Vegas, and if she's really here who knows what could happen to her!" I objected.

Sikowitz stared at me for a few moments, and then suddenly picked up a pillow from beside him and threw it over at Robbie. It bounced off his head and Robbie bolted upwards, looking around wildly before taking the shades off.

"What'sgoingon?" he said.

"Time to wake up, Robbie!" Sikowitz called. "Oh and André!" He threw a second pillow at the closed bathroom door. André opened up the door, and there was shaving cream on his face making him look like Santa Clause. "Can you go wake up Beck and Jade? They'd better get ready now."

"On it," André said calmly, not even bothering wiping off his face before leaving the room.

"Sikowitz!" I said in a disproving tone. "I'm trying to tell you something really important!"

My acting teacher stared at me hard. "What were we talking about?"

I face-palmed myself. "Can I go down to the main lobby and ask the people if they've—"

"Hold on, Tori." Sikowitz stood up. Robbie was sitting on the bed still, his head rolling back and forth as he was obviously struggling to stay awake. "If the people do tell you some things that could lead you to finding your sister, you have to remember: you have a show to do at eight. We don't have any backups that I know of, so that is the main priority here."

"Okay, okay," I muttered.

"Fine then. You can go and do whatever you need to, but I expect you to be back up here at 7:30 so we can go down to the studio, all right?"

"Yay! Thanks Sikowitz!" I jumped up and ran out of their room.

I made my way to the elevators and got on the first one heading downwards. It was empty, and shook eerily as we went down. I got out and started towards the main desk.

Even though it was 6:40, there were actually quite a lot of people bustling about, and it was pretty crowded. There was even a long line formed at the front desk. I stood at the back and waited, tapping my foot impatiently.

It had been ten minutes but I was finally at the front. I approached the empty counter and said to the man, "I was wondering if a girl named Trina Vega checked in some time this week."

"I'm sorry, but we're not allowed to give out information like that," the man said.

"But this is important. She could be in danger!" I persisted.

The man shook his head.

"I'm her sister!" I wasn't going away that easy if I had just waited in line for twenty minutes.

"Let me see your ID, please."

That's when I realized I was still wearing my pajama pants and everything was still upstairs.

_Shoot_.

It took all my strength to not pound my fists on the counter in frustration.

Instead, I said to him, "Well, that's okay. I'll come back later." He nodded briefly before turning to the customer behind me. I took the elevators back up to the thirtieth floor and walked down the hall back to Sikowitz's room, my fist smashing against the door loudly.

"Oh, it's good you're here Tori," Sikowitz answered as he opened up the door. He was wearing slightly different clothes, but they didn't look much different from the ones he was wearing earlier. "How did it go?"

"I waited in line for twenty minutes and I need my ID card if they're going to tell me anything," I pouted, walking in, and finding that André was adjusting the collar of his jacket in front of the mirror. Robbie was missing; probably in the bathroom.

"Okay, then go and get your ID card—"

"The line is really long, Sikowitz. It's probably going to be a half hour wait." I frowned, a sudden idea forming in my head. It was a stupid and unreasonable one, but it was an idea. "Hey, what if I just went door-to-door to try and find Trina? I mean—"

"Tori," Sikowitz's tone was firm, "you have a broadcast to do. You can't be ditching something like that to go and find your sister. And I don't know how the other guest will react when they see you going around…"

"Sikowitz," I replied, "this is really, _really _important. Can't the rest of you do the broadcast while I stay here and try to find Trina? If I can't get to the front desk then I'll just go and search the manual way."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't want you staying here by yourself."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you!" I said, throwing my hands in the air. "Trina is here _by herself_, and who knows—"

"All right, all right, here's what we'll do. André can stay with you while you look for Trina, while Beck, Jade, Cat and Robbie come with me to do the broadcast. Does that sound okay? I'll need to call Mr. Highes to tell him what's happening, but I'm sure he'll understand."

"Could you really do that?" I said excitedly. "Thanks, Sikowitz!"

I dashed out and headed down towards my room. I knocked a couple times, and Robbie answered the door.

_So that's where he was_.

"Oh, hi Tori!" he said, letting me in.

"Hey," I responded, picking up my phone off my bed and sticking it into my pocket. Cat was in the bathroom, and I wondered why in the world Robbie was here. "Wait, Robbie why are you—" I heard the door slam shut, and he was gone.

_Okay, then_, I thought, going over to the closet and taking out a long sleeve shirt and jeans. I slipped them on, glancing over at the clock and saw that it was 7:25. Cat came out of the bathroom, filling our room with lots of steam and the smell of coconut shampoo.

"Hi, Cat. Go to Robbie's room when you're ready, okay? I need to do something special," I told her.

"Kay kay," she replied in that cute way of hers.

I left the room and practically ran down the hall. André was standing outside of his room, looking very good.

"Okay, Tor, so Sikowitz said we could go and try and find Trina while everyone else goes and does the broadcast. So you'd better keep your phone on so Sikowitz can give us updates on what's going on," André instructed. "None of them are really 'on-board' with us ditching, but this is a pretty big deal so…"

"All right, cool."

Suddenly, Sikowitz, Robbie and Rex came out of the room. Cat was coming towards us from my room, and I even saw Beck and Jade, arms linked, leaving their room.

"You two, good luck and stay together. I'll be texting you," Sikowitz informed. "And if you find Tori, just do what you can to get the word out to your parents first, and then you can tell me, okay?"

I nodded vigorously.

"Off you go then!" He turned to Beck and Jade as André and I made our way towards the elevators.

"So, should we start on the first floor and go from there?" André asked.

"Yeah, sounds good," I said as we exited the elevators.

There was still a usual crowd of people in the front, so we walked around a little bit, realizing that there were no actual rooms on the first level. We went back and headed towards the second floor, finding that there were a couple of rooms there.

I was pretty nervous when we knocked on the first door.

An old lady answered, her hair still in a wet shower cap.

"What do you want?" she practically yelled at us.

_Nope, that was definitely not Trina_. "Sorry, wrong room," I muttered, and the door slammed in our faces. André looked at me apologetically. We moved on to the next one, but that time no one answered. We visited the rest of the rooms on the entire second floor, but to no prevail.

"I don't think this is going to be possible," I sighed as we climbed up the stairs to the third floor. "We've got thirty-seven more floor to check out."

"Maybe we should just go to the front desk. This might take all day," André said.

"But then I have to go upstairs and get my ID, and the wait could take like, half an hour! And who knows, they might not even say anything, especially if Trina registered under a different name," I whined. "Besides, we're already done to with two floors, out of forty."

André frowned at my lame reasoning. I gave him the best puppy-eyes look I could muster. Finally he said, "All right, fine."

The third floor was just as a disaster. More people answered, and they all looked just as annoyed as the next to see that we weren't any hotel employees or maids to come and clean up their rooms or whatever.

One man came to the door with his pants sagging lower than his knees and his shirt was completely unbuttoned. André gave him a quick stare and then led me in the direction of the next room.

About an hour later, we were tiredly climbing up to the fifth floor. The higher up we got, the more rooms there seemed to be. But at least the guys doing the news broadcast would be coming back soon, since it should've been over, so they could help us.

"I'm sorry, Tor, but this is wasting too much time," André confessed as we heaved up the last few steps. "Can't we go to the front desk?"

"No! We're like—" I did the math in my head "—one eighth of the way done!"

"You know, I think there's an app to track phones," André said suddenly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I need a computer or something."

"Aren't there computers in the lobby?" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"Oh, yeah, huh? Okay, you just want to head down there and see if we can figure out how to do it?"

"Yes."

But I really think André was just happy to not be walking around this five-star hotel and bothering all the guests. We proceeded to walk down the five flights of stairs to the main lobby. There were even more people here than before, and it was just a mess of talking, shouting things.

As André and I went over to the computer stations, we heard someone yelling.

"Yeah, that's them over there!"

We stopped in our tracks as a big security guard and the man in the hotel room who didn't have his pants quite on approached us. Luckily, now the man's pants were properly buckled.

"Excuse me, ma'am, sir," the guard said.

"Uh, hi," André said nervously, hiding his hands behind his back.

"I've been getting some complaints that you two have been disturbing the other guests," the guard said gruffly.

"Well, you see, uh, Mr., uh, Joseph," I spluttered, my hands wringing, "it was because I'm trying to find someone and…" My voice trailed off pathetically. I looked around Mr. Joseph, seeing the old lady with a shower cap and a few other people I recognized behind him. They were all frowning angrily. "Uhm…"

"We're really sorry, but we're trying to find her sister," André admitted. It looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

I nodded profusely as I continued to look around. Suddenly, someone very familiar looking caught my eye. I turned my head sharply, getting a good look at a person who was…

"Trina?" I shouted.

The figure stopped and looked at me, a terrified expression on her face. Holy chiz, I know that look anywhere! It was Trina!

"Trina?" André asked in disbelief.

"Trina, what in the name of gravy are you doing here?" I ran over to her, no longer feeling excited but extremely upset with my older sister.

"What? Do I know you?"

"Yes you do! It's Tori, Trina! Stop playing games." I hit her arm. She frowned. "What are you doing here? Dad called me and said you spent three thousand dollars on a _hotel room_!"

"What's going on over here?" The beefy Mr. Joseph approached us.

"This is my sister, Trina," I answered breathlessly. "This is the girl I was trying to find earlier."

"Oh, all right. Well, now that this has been resolved, if we get another complaint from the other guests about you being disturbing, you will be kicked out of this hotel." In a lower voice he added, "Whether you are in Vegas 777 or not."

I didn't even wonder for a moment how he knew we were part of that program. "I understand," I said.

"Yessir," André repeated.

Trina looked dumbfounded.

I pulled them both out of the lobby and by the elevators. André was glaring at Trina, who tried her best to look completely innocent.

"Do you know how much trouble you're going to be in?" I practically shouted.

"Mom and Dad don't know I'm here," she argued.

"Um, yeah they do! As of now!" I whipped out my phone and started dialing my dad. Trina wrenched the phone out of my hand. André stood there confusedly.

"No, Tor. You got to go to Vegas, so I do too."

"Yeah well, for starters, Mom and Dad _know _that I'm in Vegas, and two, everything was paid for!" I said.

"Hey, Tori," André interrupted, holding up his green PearPhone. "Did you get a text from Sikowitz in the past few hours?"

"Huh?" I asked. Trina looked at my phone in her hand and shook her head. "Wait, why?"

"It's noon. They should've been long done with the broadcast," André said slowly, pocketing his phone. "No one said anything about going anywhere afterwards, right?"

"No. Yeah, you're right they should be here…" My heart started sinking.

_How much worse can this trip get_?

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><p><strong>Whew...long chapter. Geez, I had no idea it was going to take so long to write something like this.<strong>

**Anyway, hope you liked it. Review. You do want to know what happened to the rest of the gang, right?**

**Oh, and the updates should be coming faster (hopefully) because I've finished the other story. But I just need to figure out some things that I've already planned out but are now messed up because they don't work with what I've already written. Other than that, expect new chapters a little more often!**


	11. Day 4: Is This a Joke?

**There are a ton of switches in POVs so I hope you can still keep up with what's happening. Also, this chapter includes little bits of Cade, Rade, and Bat.**

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><p>CHAPTER 11 -DAY 4 continued-<br>Jade's POV

We had just finished up the broadcast for today. Sikowitz, in the corner of the main studio room, was clapping his hands together for us excitedly, a big smile on his face. He was extremely happy that we could pull off the entire show missing two people.

Mr. Highes was gone for the moment to call his usual reporters to come back in case we needed more help, although that was unnecessary since Tori and André would be back tomorrow, not that I missed them…well Tori, anyway.

"Yay! Wasn't that fun, Jade?" Cat came bouncing over to me. I was still sitting in the anchor's seat, too lazy to get up. The crew and cameramen had disappeared in the back, to take a break and let us have our own down time in the main studio. After all, it wasn't every day you get to hang out in a professional filming room.

"Oh, yeah. Tori not being here was like the best part."

Cat's happy smile drooped and I laughed upon seeing this. Robbie, Beck and Sikowitz came over to us. Everyone was still wearing their costumes and looked kind of sweaty from the extra work. Except for Beck. He looked perfect, like always.

"All right, kids," Sikowitz said, putting a hand on Robbie's shoulder, "let's get back to the—"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the whole room starting shaking like there was an earthquake or something. Cat grabbed onto my arm and I pulled her towards me protectively, holding her in my lap. Sikowitz had reached over and yanked Beck to the floor along with Robbie.

"What's going on?" Beck yelled over the noise.

The cameras in the corners were rattling loudly, and I figured that at any moment the lights on the ceiling were going to fall off and land on top of us. Beck and Robbie crawled underneath the desks, Sikowitz pushing them to go faster.

Cat had her head in my chest and I was having a lot of trouble moving to a safer spot. I half-scooted half-fell off of the swivel chair and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Cat was practically choking me in her grip.

"Eck…Cat…ease off, will ya?" I panted.

"Jade, Jade, Jade," she repeated, tapping my head frantically.

I looked over her red hair and that's when I realized that there was a man in a black suit, holding a huge gun in the far left doorway of the room.

_Mr. Highes_? I thought. _Holy cow I knew that guy was up to something_!

"Who's in here?" the man shouted, and suddenly the room stopped shaking. That was certainly not Mr. Highes's older voice, so whose was it? Cat was breathing heavily in my ear, and I saw Sikowitz tense up under the desk. He motioned me to stay low with Cat.

"Are you sure no one's in here?" the man continued to taunt us. "I swear the main show takes place in here, and I've seen no one leave but someone in a blue suit. By the way, I've taken care of him."

"_Mr. Highes_," Robbie mouthed looking at us.

Without warning, the TV monitors above the desks shattered, spraying Cat and me with the miniscule pieces of glass. My hand jumped to cover Cat's mouth, but it was too late to suppress the scream she let go.

"Aha!" The man sounded triumphant.

Sikowitz shoved the boys out from under the desk.

"Run!" he yelled.

Beck reached over and pulled Cat off my lap. _What was he doing_? He shielded her with his body and then leaped behind the wall with the monitors and disappeared.

"Get back here!"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The sound of gunshots split the air, but it didn't stop me from standing up. Robbie reached over and grabbed my hand, but I didn't think much of it. Sikowitz was running clean across the room, covering his head all the way.

We bolted in the opposite direction of Beck and Cat. I pulled Robbie in a zigzag pattern, but I don't think the man was aiming to shoot us, just scare us. I crashed into the door and fumbled with the push handle, throwing it open and dashing into the hall behind it.

"Jade, Jade, where are we going?" Robbie squeaked, probably not enjoying being dragged around by me.

"We need to find the others and get out of here!" We turned sharply to the left and continued down the black hall. I had never been back here before, and it was just a crazy maze, I'm pretty sure.

"I'm so scared!"

"Suck it up, Shapiro. I guarantee you'll be more scared if someone finds us," I responded, looking around. I had no idea what part of the studio we were in. "Do you have your phone?"

"No. I left it in the dressing rooms like they told us to."

I swore. Curse Mr. Highes and his dumb rules. We had to keep our phones away from the cameras because they apparently 'disturbed' the radio signals. But now we were trapped, and had no idea how to contact the others, let alone have a single clue about where the heck we were.

Robbie was looking more terrified than usual. How in the world did I get stuck with this wimp? We paused, and I briefly wondered how the others were doing until I heard a sharp click at the opposite end of the hall.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

I pushed Cat in front of me while we ran. Luckily, behind the wall with now-broken TV monitors was a door. Her fingers grasped the handle and she opened it. I almost ran her over in my haste to get us away from the man with the gun.

_This is some sick joke Mr. Highes is playing on us_, I thought.

"Where do we go now?" Cat whispered once the door was closed behind us.

"Uhm," I searched around hastily. "Let's go this way." I took the lead, making sure she was right on my heels and we went around a corner. I had no idea how many more people were in here, and I also had absolutely no idea where we were going.

"Stop right there!" A man in a black suit approached us from the end of the hall. He looked similar to the person in the main studio. How did he get here so fast?

I stopped, and Cat crashed into me.

"Oof! Beck what's…" her voice trailed off pathetically when she saw the man at the other end.

"Hello, kiddies," the man said calmly, stepping forward. "Pleasure to meet you both. You can call me, uh, Mr. Lowes."

_Mr. Lowes? Sounds heck of a lot similar to Mr. Highes_.

"Hi, Mr. Lowes!" Cat waved at him stupidly.

"Cat, shut up," I whispered, moving my mouth as little as possible. I grabbed her hand.

"Oh! Jade's not going to like that," she responded, looking down at our intertwined fingers. I sighed, unable to process the fact that we could be kidnapped at any moment and Cat was busy worrying about petty little things like holding hands.

I seriously want to know what is wrong with her sometimes.

"Oh, quiet down now, children. Too much talking pollutes the air, you know," Mr. Lowes said, stepping forward with astonishing calmness. He pulled a large handkerchief out of his pocket, ripping it in two.

"That's what my dad always says!" Cat exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes, taking deliberate steps backwards as Mr. Lowes got closer to us. Cat said nothing more but followed my lead, her breath soft on the back of my neck.

"Don't go anywhere. You don't want me to use this, do you?" Mr. Lowes reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small and shiny gun.

I stopped.

"What do you want with us?" I hollered at him.

"I just need a small favor from the both of you." Mr. Lowes took one piece of handkerchief and wiped the end of the gun with it slowly. "You see, me and my friends are in desperate need of—"

"Walter? Walter are you over here?" a woman's voice echoed suddenly.

Mr. Lowes slapped his forehead. "Crap, you're ruining my case, Miss Left!" he shouted. I was frozen to the spot with Cat behind me. "I've got two of the children over here."

The door behind Mr. Lowes opened up, and out came a short, stocky woman with wispy blond hair. She was carrying a gun similar to the one the man in the main studio had carried, and looked just as mean.

"Oh, you do have some of the children. I thought you were kidding," she said.

_What is going on here_?

"Cat, on the count of three, run back and open up the door," I said breathlessly, squeezing her fingers.

"Kay kay," she answered softly.

"Mr. Lowes, you are not supposed to be talking to the children. We do not converse with them in the middle of a heist, remember?" Miss Left scolded her partner-in-crime.

"One…"

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to scare them."

"Two…"

"It doesn't matter," Miss Left said sharply. "We'll be taking char—"

"Three!" I screamed.

I felt Cat's hand leave my grip as she rushed to open the door behind us. I ran frantically behind her, listening to the sound of bullets erupt in the dark hall. I thought for sure that one of them was going to hit me, but I was wrong. We ended up in the room behind the door, not a single scratch on us.

"Walter! You do not, under any circumstance, shoot the children!" I heard Miss Left shouting again.

"But…but…but…"

The rest of their conversation was lost as I looked around the new room we were trapped in. It was extremely small, only about ten by ten feet big. There were three doors connected to it, well, minus the one we had just come through.

There were two doors to choose from.

"Maybe we should split up," Cat suggested quietly.

"No. We stay together, okay?" I said firmly, grabbing her hand and turning to the door on our left. Little did I know that Jade and Robbie were behind the door that was right in front of us.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Robbie's POV<p>

Jade stopped moving all of a sudden.

"Hey, are you ok—"

"Shut up, Shapiro," she muttered, and I immediately did as she said. There had never been a single moment in my life that I didn't listen to Jade West. The last time I refused, Rex almost died and I almost ended up buried six feet underground. It was just not worth it.

I looked around, and saw someone huge standing at the other end.

"Nice to meet you all, children."

"We're not 'children,'" Jade seethed.

Without warning, the figure lifted up a gun that was shaped oddly like a water gun in the dim lights of the hallway. Before we could react, there was a swish noise. Jade jumped in front of me, and suddenly collapsed right before my eyes.

"Jade!" I yelled, kneeling down to pick her up.

_Oh no! Who's going to protect me now_?

The figure at the end gave a loud, throaty laugh. I moved the hair out of Jade's face and saw something feathery sticking out of her shoulder. I grabbed it and gave it a swift tug, revealing the needlepoint end.

_Tranquilizer darts_.

"Jade! Jade wake up!" I whispered, shaking her shoulders stupidly. How did you wake up someone who was knocked out? Electrocute them? No, I didn't have any access to anything like that. Oh wait...you could also splash water on their face, right? But I didn't have any water with me at the moment. Darn.

The person was starting to walk towards me, their dart gun still raised.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud and a shout. The figure stopped, turning around, its back towards us, staring at the door behind them. I held my breath, shaking Jade as hard as my arms would allow.

"Jade! Please wake up!" I slapped her across the face to no prevail. Darn.

There was another noise; it sounded like a door opening and closing and feet thudding across a floor. I continued trying to get Jade to wake up.

The person was still facing the door. Finally they turned back around towards me.

"Stay here, son."

They raised the gun, and I knew they were going to knock me out too so I wouldn't be able to get away.

"R-r-rob-robbi…" Jade was starting to wake up and muttering my name.

SWISH! SWISH!

They fired the gun twice. Fortunately for me, they missed. Unfortunately, that was because I ducked behind Jade and she took the two hits, falling into unconsciousness again. I splayed out on the floor, pretending to be knocked out and the person disappeared through the back doors.

When I was sure that they were gone, I jumped up, looking back down at Jade. The darts had hit her in the neck, so she was probably going to be out for a lot longer. I looked around us, trying to figure out a way to carry Jade around while I looked for my friends.

I scratched my head, thinking hard. I was not the strongest person on the planet, and Jade wasn't the lightest person ever. Well, she was heavier than Cat anyway.

I wondered how she was doing with Beck. Ironic how he went with her when he _knows _that I have a crush on her and that he's even in a relationship with the girl I was now stuck with.

Okay, then. Talk about weird planning.

I straightened my back and grabbed both of Jade's wrists in my hands. This certainly wasn't the smartest thing I could come up with, but if it could get us out of danger then so be it.

I ended up taking off my jacket and tying one of the sleeves around Jade's arms and the other sleeve around my waist so I could drag her around without too many problems.

She sure was not going to be a happy camper when she wakes up.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYXZ<p>

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><p>Sikowitz's POV<p>

I hoped my students were okay. I wanted them to be together, which was the reason for forcing Robbie to go with Jade and Beck with Cat. At least the pairs were what I would consider 'nicely' matched since Beck could probably take better care of Cat then Robbie could, despite how much more Robbie liked her.

I hurried down the empty hall, looking behind me every so often. This was not very fun being by myself, but I guess I could make do with it. After all, I had all my imaginary friends following after me.

I heard some thumping noises in the room next to the hall. I found the nearest door and charged through, finding the green room. Beck was standing in front of Cat, and there was a huge man standing next to them, a water-gun-like thing in his hands.

"Stop right there!" I shouted.

The man turned towards me, and I realized that it was a woman.

Whoops.

"You!" the woman shouted, her voice deeper than mine. Okay, maybe she was a man in disguise. I hope.

"Yes, it is I, Erwin Sikowitz, acting teacher at Hollywood Arts!" I announced proudly.

"What?"

The woman-man was confused. Exactly my plan. I reached down next to me and picked up the only thing I deemed 'heavy' enough. It was a huge, green potted plant, and I tossed it at the person threatening to hurt my students. They toppled forward onto their gun with a crash, and lay there, unmoving.

"Sikowitz!" Cat squealed, running over to me and jumping into my arms.

"Oh, hello, Cat. I'm glad I found you guys. Do you know where Jade and Robbie are?" I asked while Beck stepped carefully over the unconscious woman.

"No." Beck shook his head, his eyes showing pain for his missing girlfriend.

"Well, we're together now, okay? We'll find them both and see what's really going on here."

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Cat's POV<p>

Beck was holding my hand again as we followed closely behind Sikowitz. I told him Jade wasn't going to like it when she found out that we were holding hands. She could pick up on things like this. She had the senses of a dog sometimes.

Hee hee, that's probably why we're such good friends. She's a dog and I'm Cat…get it?

"Where exactly are we going, Sikowitz?" Beck asked, breaking the silence.

"Let's try and head upstairs and see if we can find a window. Maybe we can jump out or get someone on the outside's attention," our acting teacher responded calmly.

"There's a second floor?" Beck questioned.

"I'm not sure, but we can go and find out."

"You know one time, when I was here in Vegas with my brother, he fell out of a fourth-story window and—"

"You don't say, Cat?" Beck sounded a little irritated.

"No, I just said it," I argued.

"Be quiet kids," Sikowitz hushed us.

We came to a door and went through it quietly. In front of us, to our disbelief, was a set of stairs, and on the second landing was a nice, wide window.

"This way!"

Still holding onto Beck, we marched up the stairs and peeked out the window.

There was a whole horde of police cars surrounding the building as far as we could see. I let go of Beck and pressed my face against the window. Mr. Highes, in his blue suit, was standing next to one of the chief policemen, talking frantically and gesturing back to the studio. Many of the other cameramen and crew were nearby, all of them looking startled and shaken.

If everyone was out there, how come we were still in here?

"Gosh, look! It's Mr. Highes!" Beck exclaimed.

"So I guess he's not behind this after all," Sikowitz murmured.

"Who's not behind what?" a woman's voice said behind us.

_Oh no_! I spun around, seeing the woman who had trapped Beck and me earlier now standing on the first landing of the stairs. There was a huge lump on her forehead, and she looked upset.

"Miss, if you would pardon us, we're just trying to go, uh, home," Sikowitz reasoned, his back against the glass.

"No, we're going to the hotel!" I interjected.

Beck's hand clamped down on my mouth, but I didn't struggle.

"Hotel? You're part of the Vegas 777 thing, then?" the woman took a step forward. Beck's other arm came around me, holding me tightly against him. His skin felt very warm.

"Really, there's no need for that." Sikowitz pointed at the dart gun.

"No, I don't really trust you folk," the woman sighed, lifting up the gun to examine it and then dropped it back down at her side.

Suddenly, there was a swish noise and Sikowitz fell forward, rolling down the steps before landing at the woman's feet. I screamed through Beck's hand.

And in that same moment, the doors at the bottom burst open, and two policemen, armed with guns even more scarier-looking than the one the woman was holding, appeared.

"Freeze!" one officer screamed. "Put the gun down!"

The woman turned and the gun she was holding went off with more swishing noises. She missed, and the other officer tackled her to the ground. They both landed on the unconscious Sikowitz.

"Are you kids okay?" the officer asked.

"Yes, but our other friends are missing," I cried. Beck patted my head.

"Okay, well come with us. We've got other police officers trying to find your friends, along with some of the news crew," he said, holding out a hand. "I'm Officer Bradley, by the way."

I didn't want to trust him. Something just didn't seem right. I looked down at Sikowitz, seeing that he was breathing just slightly. The other officer had picked up the now-unconscious woman and snapping handcuffs to her wrists. I looked up at Beck, and he was just staring straight ahead.

I pushed out of his grip, bounded down the steps, and grabbed the officer's hand.

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><p><strong>Interesting chapter, huh? But kind of a filler, unfortunately. Well, now that you know what happened to the rest of the gang, how are Tori and André are going to react when and <em>if <em>they ever find out?**

**Review! :)**


	12. Day 4: Rescued

**Agh! Gosh, Day 4 is so long...sorry about that. But I promise, this is the last you'll hear of it.**

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><p>CHAPTER 12 -DAY 4 continued-<br>Tori's POV

André and I forced Trina to take us to her room, which was on the twenty-eighth floor. It was nowhere near as nice as the rooms we were staying in. But that was probably a good thing since then she wouldn't have spent as much money as she would have if she were in one of the rooms on the thirtieth floor and above.

"So you never really went to Molly's house, huh?" I asked as we crowded into the elevator.

"Nope. That was a cover-up."

"Hmm. That was actually pretty good, Trina, I'm not going to lie," I replied slowly.

"Yes, well thank you. I'm not only just pretty and talented, I'm also very smart too." She flipped her hair flirtatiously and exited the elevator first. André was grinning suspiciously wide. I knew he was probably trying not to laugh at Trina.

Oh well. A lot of people laughed at her expense. Even me. But to her, she probably just thought she made an excellent comedian too.

Ha ha.

"You know, when Mom and Dad find out that you were here, they're going to ground you for a year," I said calmly as we walked down the hall to her room. She had given me back my phone, on account of André intervening and snatching it from her hands just for me.

We stopped at her door. Trina let us in, and the room was pretty nice for the most part. I saw her pink luggage in the corner, wide open and stuffed with clothes and shopping bags.

"Just how much stuff did you buy?" I questioned, going in and sitting on the single bed in the room. André stood awkwardly by the doorway, once again trying to get ahold of one of the others.

"Not enough," I heard Trina mutter from the corner with her luggage.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Trina turned around to face me, a sheepish grin on her face.

"Well, you're going to be in big trouble, regardless of how much _more _money you went and wasted," I said, folding my hands on my lap. "I already told Dad what I suspected when you didn't go home yesterday night. And you being here is the only proof I need." I whipped out my phone and before anyone could blink, I had snapped a picture of Trina standing there and was sending it in a text to my dad.

"Tori!" Trina lunged at me. "What are you doing?"

"Whoa, girls, calm down," André said, trying to get in between us. He had his phone in between his left shoulder and cheek since he was still trying to call our friends, and because of this was having difficulty in getting Trina away from me.

"Pack your things, Trina. We're taking you to the airport."

"You didn't buy me a ticket. I'm not going anywhere," she pouted, still furiously trying to get away from André and strangle me probably.

"Oh, and that's why you're going to be in extra trouble," I said, looking down at my phone, which was vibrating. The text read:

_Got Trina a ticket. She owes us big time_. –Dad

"Dad had to spend even more money on another ticket just for you," I told her, shoving my phone in her face so she could see it for herself. Trina turned extremely red and stopped her struggles to get around André.

"Well, just to let you know, I almost got _ahemed _by two guys at a casino, so you guys should be worrying about my safety more than money!"

"That was kind of your own fault," I responded complacently. "Why in the world would you go into club whose name is Chips and _Dicks_?"

"I didn't see it."

"Exactly."

Trina bit her lip, trying to think of some amazing comeback, but after a few minutes, she gave a resigned sigh and shot me a venomous look. She didn't look at me again as she roamed around the room, piling her things into her luggage.

André had to leave the room because he was laughing so hard at the way I got Trina to do as I said. I smiled too, but said nothing else as Trina packed up.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>We took a taxicab to the airport. André was becoming extremely frantic, not being to get ahold of our chaperones and friends. But getting Trina to the airport before she could disappear and spend another three thousand dollars was pretty important (at least to me), and I promised him that as soon as she was on her flight we would head to the studio.<p>

For all we knew they could just be eating out for lunch.

We arrived at the airport in no time at all, there being little traffic. I had called Dad up on the way here, and he was going to be on the other side, waiting just for his eldest daughter so he could give her a proper lecture for 'running away' from home and blowing off thousands of dollars on clothes and hotel rooms.

"André! Have you gotten any texts or calls from anyone?" I asked. I knew he probably couldn't think about anything else for the moment, so I might as well just go with it.

We were waiting at Trina's gate number with her, mostly because if we left her there by herself I guarantee that she would go off and find somewhere to spend more money or get lured into another casino by some guys.

"No," André responded dejectedly. "That plane better come soon. I think something bad might've happened to them." Oddly, it looked like he was about to cry. Geez, this trip was affecting us in ways I would've never guessed.

Twenty agonizing minutes later, Trina's plane back to Hollywood arrived earlier than expected. We waited for everyone onboard to get off and the crew to get cleaned up for the next trip.

"Dad's going to be waiting for you in the airport," I told Trina as she handed the woman her ticket to get on.

Trina frowned at me.

"I'll get you for this, Tori," she muttered before leaving down the ramp towards the airplane.

I turned to André. "Let's go."

We headed to the filming studio, getting stuck in heavy traffic unfortunately. I tried calling Sikowitz, Cat, Beck and Robbie (André called Jade), but none of them picked up. It seemed like all of their phones were off, which Sikowitz had told us was unacceptable to do at any time.

However, when the taxi pulled up to the studio, I immediately realized why no one was answering their phones.

At least half of dozen police cars and two ambulances were surrounding the front entrance. Cars that were trying to drive around were going very slowly, so that would explain the huge traffic jam. I looked out the window, trying to find my friends.

"Just pull over here," André told the driver, pointing to the curb at least three hundred feet away from the building. The cab moved to the side and we quickly paid the driver and hopped out, running towards the studio.

I saw Beck and Cat standing next to each other in front of a police car, holding on to each other. Mr. Highes was talking to a police officer, waving his hands around and continuously pointing to his building.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" I ran over to Beck and Cat, André fast on my heels.

Beck had a few small scratches on his face, and his arms were wrapped around Cat, whose face was buried in his chest. Beck saw us first, and the expression on his face lightened up a little bit.

"Tori! André!" Beck said, looking up and seeing us running towards him. "Cat, look!"

The little redhead looked up, and to my horror, her face was stained with makeup and tears, and was red enough to match her dyed hair. André paused in his steps, the sight being too much for him. For a moment, we both just stood there, unsure of what to say or do.

"Hi," Cat said in a small voice.

"What's up, Lil' Red?" André greeted slowly, approaching them like they were poisonous snakes. Being ahead of him, I grabbed his hand and pulled him by my side.

"Some bad people came," Cat whispered. "They attacked us when we were still in the main studio. One of the men had a gun, and we got split up. We met a lot of people with black and more guns. And we caught up with Sikowitz, and this huge lady knocked him out.

"And we don't know where Robbie and Jade went." She sniffled loudly, and my heart started hurting even more than before.

"What?" André asked.

Cat pointed sadly to one of the ambulances.

_They knocked out my favorite teacher at Hollywood Arts? What was Cat talking about_?

"They guns were filled with, uh, tranquilizer darts," Beck put in.

"Oh." I was relived to here that Sikowitz hadn't actually gotten shot. "So where are Robbie and Jade, then?" André asked.

"The officers are looking for them now," Beck said sadly. "It's been such a long time since we were first trapped in there, I'm getting really worried."

I knew that Beck was worried for his girlfriend. I could see it in his eyes.

"So wait, you and Cat got stuck together, and you think Robbie and Jade are together?" André asked, looking slightly confused.

"Yeah."

"Well that's interesting."

I looked up at the building. The windows on the first floor were all blacked out (I'm going to guess that these bad people did that to them) except for one, although it was slightly painted over. Looking closely, I saw a familiar, mop-haired figure walking by, appearing to be dragging something heavy behind them…

"Hey look! It's Robbie!" I shouted, furiously pointing at the window.

Everybody's head snapped in my direction. The Robbie-figure kept walking, completely oblivious to what was happening outside.

The closest officer launched himself stupidly towards the window at full speed.

There was a shattering smash as his body collided with the window and he fell straight through, revealing Robbie with a sweater tied around his waist, the other end tied to Jade.

"Jade!" Beck screamed. He took his arms away from Cat, who looked extremely disappointed until André took his spot, holding her tightly once again. Beck rushed over and hopped through the now broken window and knelt down onto the ground. Robbie was frozen as the officer began talking to him, and none of us were moving.

"What happened? Why isn't she waking up?" Beck's voice was very loud in the silence, and you could easily hear the desperation in his voice.

Finally I went over to Beck, while André and Cat stayed behind. I climbed over the windowsill carefully and saw Jade on the ground, looking deeply unconscious with two feathery darts sticking out of her neck. There was also a red handprint across her face, like someone slapped her.

"Excuse me." A paramedic came over, dragging a gurney behind her. She untied Jade from Robbie's jacket and with surprising strength picked her up and placed her on the cart before wheeling her towards the ambulance, Beck following them both like a lost puppy.

"What did you do to Jade?" I asked the ventriloquist.

Robbie was dusting off his shirt. He didn't respond but took off his glasses and started wiping those too. I watched him, waiting for an answer.

Suddenly, I heard Cat's voice.

"Robbie!"

There was a blur of red by me, and suddenly she was in Robbie's arms, despite the gloomy mood she had earlier.

"Cat! Are you okay?" Robbie hugged her tightly.

"Yes," Cat replied, stepping back. "Wait…what did you do to Jade?" She gestured to the jacket tied around his waist and the other end where Jade had been previously dangling in the air.

"Oh, she got knocked out by this big, scary lady, so I've been dragging her around, uh, because, in case I needed to fight anyone else off my hands were free," Robbie said, a little hesitantly.

_So he ignored me asking but answers to Cat? Interesting_.

"Then what happened to her face?" I said quickly and loudly.

Robbie turned to me, a surprised expression on his face like he didn't even know I was there. "Oh, I tried to wake her up by slapping her, but it didn't work."

_He slapped her_? I coughed to hide a laugh. This was serious after all, and it would be extremely immature of me to start laughing when they both could've been killed.

Mr. Highes came over to us, looking concerned.

"That's everyone, right?" he asked.

Robbie nodded quickly. "Unless some of your crew members are in there…"

"No, they're all out."

I did a double take around us. "Where are they then?" I challenged before Robbie could say anything. I didn't see any of the cameramen, makeup artists or other crewmembers. Unless they were the ones who were hunting down my friends…?

"They're here, rest assured," Mr. Highes said calmly, his expression unchanging. "I've sent them all home. They all made quick escapes, so I don't want to cause them the hassle of hanging around and getting in the way of things."

_Liar_.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" André asked.

"We'll wait for the rest of the officers to find the culprits and then we can leave." We turned and saw an officer approaching us. "But in the meantime, I would like to talk to Mr. Robbie Shapiro, if you don't mind. The rest of you can proceed to the hospital with the ambulances. You can let us do the work."

I looked around at my friends. Cat was cuddling up with Robbie, who was whispering quietly to a different officer. André had a completely straight face. Beck, Jade, and Sikowitz were nowhere to be seen.

"Well geez, I'm just glad you guys are okay." I admitted quietly as we walked towards street. We would get another taxi to bring us to the hospital.

"For the most part," André muttered darkly.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

"Sorry, son, you can't come in here," the female paramedic told me as they wheeled Jade inside the back of the ambulance.

"I'm her boyfriend. I can come in if I want to," I said, a little bit too harshly. I didn't mean to be rude, but I was just desperate to see my girl again. Sure it had only been a couple hours, but it had felt like years to me.

The other paramedic, a short male with a nametag that said 'Aaron' on it reached over and gently pulled the darts out of Jade's neck while the other inserted and IV into her left arm.

"She looks fine," he said, placing the darts into a plastic tray on the side. "Just knocked out."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief, reaching over and holding her pale, cold hand, kneeling down in the squashed area of the back. Her breathing was very even, and the paramedics continued to bustle about, hooking her up to more machines that made annoying beepy noises.

"Okay, so we have Mr. Sikowitz in the other van, all nice and patched up, correct?" Aaron asked the female.

"Yessir."

I listened to their talk for a while, closing my eyes, knowing that my girlfriend was safe.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Mr. Highes's POV<p>

It only took another half hour and the police had finally captured the rest of the attackers inside my studio. Those kids didn't trust me, I know. But why not? Sure I was a little wacky, and sure I was the first one to get out, but if I hadn't gotten out, then no one else would've.

After all, I was the one who called the police.

As the cops were leaving, with the bad guys in the backs of their car, I walked to the other side of the building, whipping my phone out. I dialed one of the anchors that were on their trip in Idaho. I had been trying to call them earlier, but had been interrupted when the criminals broke in.

"Hey, Sophia, this is Mr. Highes," I said as someone picked up.

"Oh, hello, sir. You called me earlier?"

"Yeah, that's right. Just a few complications, but that's all right now. How's your guys' convention going on? I really hate to be bothering you."

"It's going very well. Everyone's the same, and Petey got a new haircut." She laughed.

Petey Mackin was her co-anchor, a very fun, lovable dude who had an insanely awesome haircut. It was spiked in the back and flat on the front, and unbelievably, was that way naturally. He claimed that when he was little he was experimenting with types of hair gel, and found one that never came out. I didn't believe him, but seeing that every single day I saw him it never changed, he might've been telling the truth.

"Oh. Does his haircut look nice?" I asked.

"Haha, I was kidding. Nope, it looks the same as always."

I rolled my eyes. Sophia always liked kidding around with the rest of the crew and me. "And are you having fun?"

"Well, yes, for the most part. It's been snowing pretty heavily over here, unfortunately, but it does make reporting the weather all the more fun." I could picture her grinning widely.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but you'll need to come back to Vegas as soon as you can," I said suddenly. "The 777 kids are having a lot of trouble right now. We just got ambushed in our studio."

"What?" Sophia sounded genuinely shocked. "Was that the 'complication?'"

"Yeah. They're all fine, just a little bit shaken. I don't think they trust me. I think they think I had set that up or something."

"Oh. Why, what did you do to them this time?" she joked again, although I didn't see much humor in the situation.

"That doesn't matter right now," I said. "And I didn't do anything to them. You need to round up everyone and head back here immediately. I'll pay for you plane tickets and whatever else you need. Just get here as soon as possible."

"Roger that, sir," she responded. "Anything else you need?"

"No. That is my only concern at the moment." I started getting an agitated feeling in my gut. I rolled my head back and forth, trying to concentrate.

"All right, Mr. Highes. We'll be on our way ASAP, but rumor has it that there is going to be a big snowstorm later, so our flight might be delayed…"

"Then I'll send you my private jet." My teeth clenched together, trying to control the tone of my voice. It wasn't working. I balled up my other hand and stuck my fist into my pocket, my fingers pulling at the threads inside.

Sophia's voice leaped. "Will do, sir." There was a pause. "Mr. Highes, I hope you're doing okay. You sound pretty tense right now—"

"Yes, everything is fine," I snapped, rolling my eyes, my fingers twitching erratically.

"Okay, sorry, sir. I know that's a touchy subject."

I couldn't control myself anymore. "You better darn well be here within twenty-four hours," I screeched into the tiny phone.

"Yessir." Sophia was used to my odd behavior, but unfortunately, it made some people think otherwise.

"Bye." I hung up without waiting for a response, storing my phone back into my empty pocket.

I rubbed my temples feverishly, trying to calm down. It was easier to get ahold of myself than when I was a kid. I reached back into my pocket and pulled out an orange prescription tube of white pills. I popped one into my mouth and went back to the front of the building, shaking the whole way.

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><p><strong>Ooo...what's up with Mr. Highes, huh? Hmm...<strong>

**Review!**


	13. Day 5: New Problems

**A few flashbacks in this chapter (the italicized parts).**

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><p>CHAPTER 13 -DAY 5-<br>Trina's POV

_ I arrived back in Hollywood and had just received my luggage, not looking forward to seeing my father. As I was walking around, he spotted me before I could get anywhere, and I don't think I've ever seen him any angrier. _

_ The scariest part was that he didn't say anything but a quick hello, and took me outside to his car. That was where he exploded._

_ "Trina! What the heck were you thinking?" my dad yelled as I climbed into the back of the car, tossing my badly packed luggage beside me. "You spent over three thousand dollars? Do you know how long your mother and I had to work to make all of that?"_

_ I cringed but said nothing. It would be better for him to let all of his feelings out before I said anything anyway. _

_ "How do you expect to get to college if you're going to be spending all the money on hotel rooms and overpriced clothes?"_

_ "Well, seeing as I'm going to become a very famous and rich actress one day, you don't need to worry too much about the costs," I said smoothly, leaning forward and putting my head in between the front seats. _

_ His eyes twitched and there was a vein pulsing in his temple that I didn't even know existed. He took a deep breath and said, "You are going to be grounded for the next three months."_

_ "What?" It was my turn to get upset. "But Dad, there's going to be a big dance competition next month, and I made it on the team and everything, and I've still got practices and stuff to go to—"_

_ "Well maybe you should've thought about that before you decided to run off." My dad started the car and pulled away from the curb, turning us into the horde of taxis and vans heading towards the freeway. _

_ I smacked the seat in front of me in frustration._

_ "Don't hit the car. It's not its fault."_

_ I couldn't control myself and hit the seat again. My dad sighed, but said nothing more. I took my orange phone out of my pocket and turned it on._

_ "Oh, you'll also need to give me your phone."_

_ "What?" My voice rose two octaves. _

_ "You heard me. It was more of your mother's idea, though. It was just my idea to ground you for a long time, honestly. Oh, and she's going to chew you out too when we get home. So hand over your electronic device, please." He turned around and slung his hand over the seat, palm up. _

Oh no you don't. You can ground me and keep me from going to competitions, but you are not taking my phone!

_ "Trina. Give it here."_

_ "Aw, I don't want to."_

_ "You have to. I am your father and you have listen to me."_

_ "But…how am I going to get ahold of you when I'm at school? Or hanging out with friends?"_

_ "Well for one, you will not be hanging out with your friends anytime afterschool or on the weekends, and two, you go to the same school as your sister. You can talk to her and borrow her phone if you need to."_

_ "This is child abuse," I argued._

_ "I'm a police officer, and I can tell the difference between being strict and abuse. Seriously, Trina. No more games. I promise not to look through it or anything."_

_ I didn't want to do it. But I know I had to._

_ Gingerly, I set my precious phone into the palm of my dad's hand, which closed immediately on touching it. I looked out the window for the rest of the ride home._

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYXZ<p>

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><p>It was Wednesday morning, and I was in the kitchen eating a burrito. I should be at school, but seeing as no one bothered to wake me up on time, I guess I was going to hang out here for the rest of the day. That was fine with me.<p>

Yesterday after we got home, Dad continued to yell his pants off at me, although Mom handled the situation a little more calmly. She agreed that I was completely at fault for everything, which I guess was okay, but then she let Dad pick my punishment, which I was _not _okay with.

He changed my punishment and only grounded me for two months, which still extended into my summer vacation. And I would not be able to partake in any dance, singing, or acting competitions, and no longer had access to my phone.

I took another bite of burrito, listening to my parents talking loudly in the family room, which was connected right to the kitchen's back door.

"Well, I'm glad she's all right, at least. Did you know that Tori and her friends got ambushedat their studio?" I heard my mom's voice.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. I was getting really worried since the police said something about dart guns, but I knew I couldn't do anything because we were waiting for Trina to arrive. I knew we couldn't just leave her to come back home by herself.

"But the kids are all right. A little bit shaken, I think, but everyone is fine."

My ears were listening closely.

Tori and her friends were in trouble? No wonder Mom seemed so agitated when we first got home (but she cooled off pretty quick). She must've been upset that Dad and her couldn't go and see if they were okay since they were waiting for me to come home and not cause any more damage to the family bank account.

I almost felt guilty for my actions.

Almost.

But they could all take care of themselves, right? And they had Sikowitz, anyway. Well, the man could barely dress decently, come to think of it. Okay then…

"Trina, can you come here please?" my mom called suddenly.

"I'm eating."

"Bring your food."

I sighed, but having only used that fact as an excuse, got up from the table burrito-less and headed over to the family room. Dad was standing with his arms crossed, frowning at Mom, who was wearing a friendlier expression.

"Okay, Trina. You're be excused from school today, but only because you'll be late, and anyway, I could use your help in the chores around here," my dad said, his mouth mashed into a hard line.

"Yessir," I mumbled looking at the floor.

"You'll be doing chores for a long time."

I continued staring at the wooden panels crisscrossing the ground.

"We'll get started after you're done eating."

I stumbled back into the kitchen, for the first time regretting going to Vegas in the first place.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

_I woke up in the hospital with a really bad headache. Everything was so white and clean it burned my eyes_

_ "Hey, Jade," someone said softly as soon as I had adjusted to the lighting and colors. _

_ "Whathappened?"_

"_You got hit with some tranquilizer darts," Beck whispered. I hadn't even realized he was holding my hand until I felt something squeeze it. I looked slowly to my left and saw my angel-like boyfriend sitting there, a sad smile on his face. "So, how are you feeling?"_

_ "My head hurts." Beck reached over and gently kissed the top of my head._

_ "Anything else?"_

_ "My lips."_

_ He laughed. "Okay." He reached over and kissed me again. When we pulled apart, he was smiling, but looked really tired. "I hope you'll be feeling better soon," he whispered, "because we still have a show to do tomorrow."_

_ "What?"_

_ He nodded sadly. "Mr. Highes called his usual reporters and cast to come back, but they're all stuck in a snowstorm, and can't get back soon enough for tomorrow. Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it."_

_ "Wait, so what time is it right now?"_

_ "It's about five in the afternoon."_

_ "Where did everybody else go? And where is Robbie? I remember seeing him, and then nothing."_

"_You and Sikowitz are the only ones who actually needed to stay here," my boyfriend informed me. "I got a couple of scratches, and so did Robbie and Cat, but it's not too bad. Nothing a little bit of makeup can fix." He smiled ruefully. _

_ I looked closer at his face. He looked slightly dirty, and a few parts with streaks of red really stood out. "So what did Robbie do to me?"_

_ "Well, apparently you saved him from being hit with the darts, but then he couldn't really wake you up so he had to drag you around to find the exit and get away from the bad guys." I felt my face gingerly. It hurt on the right side._

_ "That's what I get for saving his butt? Dragged around and possibly slapped?" _

_ Beck gave me an awkward grin and I rolled my eyes. _

"_So I still have to the broadcast even though I'm clearly not in perfect shape to do so?"_

"_None of us really are."_

"_Why can't Tori and André just fill in for me? I filled in for them last time," I whined._

_ "Well, see, that's the thing. We need every worker possible because we won't be filming at the usual studio. We're going somewhere else, just for tomorrow, until the police can clean up the usual one. Apparently, a lot of it got ruined, so it's not safe to go there right away."_

_ "What about the people like the cameramen and stuff? Mr. Highes said they could fill in for us too, right?"_

_ Beck turned red. "Mr. Highes wants us to do it by ourselves."_

_ "What? He's not doing anything special except yelling his head off at everyone."_

_ "Sikowitz agrees with him. This is how real-life showbiz works, you know," he told me complacently. _

_ "Life sucks," I mumbled, closing my eyes again. I would need to get as much rest as I could, then, if no one wanted to give a break._

_ "I'm here for you, baby. I'm here for you."_

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

Yesterday had been way to torturous for me, and I didn't want to think about it anymore. I woke up at six and started to get ready. Cat no longer had her hyper mood, and was actually sulking while she put on some decent clothes and got washed up. We had to leave earlier than normal because the new studio was at a farther location.

Everyone looked like they had had a major headache or concussion last night. Jade looked the worst, a handprint across her face and was leaning heavily on Beck, her eyes half-closed. Robbie was staying as far away as he could from her, an extremely guilty look plastered on his face.

We took taxis to the new location, which was just an empty warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The streetlights gave off a soft glow, revealing the unfortunate dinginess of the place.

Mr. Highes greeted us at the front in a crisp gray suit.

"Hello, my childrens, I'm sorry for bringing you so far away from our usual site, but as I told you yesterday, we are not allowed to return until the police are done with their evidence-seeking." His voice was rather dulled, just enough to match the morning moodiness. "Please come inside. I've got people getting everything ready."

Jade didn't have the strength to push me around, which was probably a very bad sign. André had the nerve to be at the lead, followed by Cat, Robbie, me, Beck, Jade and Sikowitz.

The warehouse looked like something you'd see in a movie. The walls were steel and the ceiling sloped upwards, forming a steeple-like shape. It smelled musty, and the ground was covered in black tarps. Cameras were already set up in front of a makeshift filming stage. There was a single monitor on one of the long walls, and lights hung from poles scattered around the place.

"Front and center everyone, front and center." Mr. Highes called, clapping his hands together, which echoed eerily. He took his left sleeve and started rolling it up. I caught a glance of his skinny wrist and arm, and the sight shocked me.

There were about six or seven thin cuts, red against his pale skin. They didn't look natural, and were evenly spread apart, meaning only one thing.

But before I could see anymore, Mr. Highes quickly lowered his sleeve again.

André glanced at me briefly, indicating that he had seen Mr. Highes's arm, and we exchanged worried looks. This man was hiding more than his ever-changing behavior.

"All right, staff, we'll be on air in less than an hour. We are not under the normal circumstances, either. So everyone needs to be on task more than usual. Am I understood?"

Everyone nodded meekly.

"All right, so here we go. André and Robbie will be the anchors. Cat will be the sports reporter, Beck will be the weather boy, and Tori and Jade will come with me to do an interview as the field reporters. How does that sound?"

"Okay, being a field reporter again is kind of depressing, but at the thought of having to do it with Vegas just makes me want to kill myself," Jade called out rudely. _I take it back; she's got just enough energy to make fun of me_.

"Everybody needs to get ready _now_," Mr. Highes said, his tone of voice getting deeper significantly. "Go, go, go! Stop standing around here like a bunch of idiots." We had only been frozen in motion for thirty seconds. Mr. Highes's face was suddenly bright red, and he looked _mad_.

"Uh oh, let's go," Sikowitz whispered behind us.

"Hold on, Mr. Sikowitz, I need to speak with you," a woman holding a makeup mirror called out, gesturing to our teacher to go over to her.

"Go on, you guys. I don't think you want to be yelled out any longer."

We all moved over to an area with a couple of dressing stalls set up. Jade and I got dressed first, because we would need to go outside to the van and visit our location of interviewing.

At about 7:45 we boarded our ride and rode out, leaving everyone behind in the studio. Luckily in the back of the van was a giant TV monitor, where we could watch the actual broadcast like it was on television and have an idea of what was going on.

Jade had her arms crossed the entire time and didn't smile once. I think she was still upset from yesterday. The makeup crew had put a load of makeup on the right side of her face were the handprint was, and it made it look lopsided, like half of her face was sticking out farther than the other part. I said nothing and continued to look at the floor.

We arrived at our location. Two large men with pure white suits on were waiting for us at the front of a restaurant. They both had shaven heads and curled mustaches, their hands folded in front of them. I wondered what we were going to be interviewing them about.

But then I later realized that our _real _interviewer was actually behind the two men, and they were just his bodyguards. He wasn't very good-looking and smelled like sweat and grease. So we would _both _have to interview him? Together? Oh boy. This couldn't end well.

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><p>Oh my god.<p>

Oh my god.

This broadcast was going horribly.

Jade and I watched in horror as the lights in the makeshift studio, apparently set at a brighter setting than normal, literally melted the makeup off of Beck's face, showing the cuts and marks he had received from yesterday's ambush. No doubt it would confuse the audience as to what happened to him.

I could picture Mr. Highes in the background, screaming his butt off for someone to, "Get some more freaking makeup on that boy!"

And when Cat was reporting on the stats for sports, she was acting exactly like André's grandma, not to be rude or anything. Cat was shaking like _crazy_, maybe because she was afraid of another attack, or she was just cold. For an actress, her words were said either too fast or not clear enough. The only thing I managed to catch was, "Andthestatsfortodaywere prettybleguhhijan sothat'swhyiarghsheme."

But finally it was our turn to be on camera. We were inside the restaurant and each of us took a seat next to the owner. I'm not going to lie, the restaurant was extremely classy and upbeat, but the owner was just the opposite of that.

His name was Harry Piazinni, and he was wearing a white T-shirt, stained yellow and colors that probably came from cooking food. He smelled like a dumpster, and when he smiled, you could see the gaping holes where his teeth had rotted out.

I know he had probably asked to do interview on a short notice, but you'd think an owner of such a well-known restaurant would be dressed decently all the time.

Jade seemed to be getting the same idea. She was on his right, and I was on hi left. It was a little awkward for two of us to be interviewing one person, but according to Mr. Highes, this person was extremely famous in the restaurant business, and he didn't have enough time to find another willing interviewee.

The cameraman gave us the countdown.

"Hello, and welcome back," Jade said, a false smile on her face. "Jade West here."

"I'm Tori Ve—"

"I'm Harry Piazinni," the large man interrupted, his face hovering over my hand, which held the single microphone. I tried not to cringe at his smell or snap at him for interrupting me.

"Mr. Piazinni here is the owner of this four-star restaurant, Harry's Steak House," Jade continued, ignoring us. "And we've been given the wonderful opportunity to speak with Harry himself, who will be revealing to us a little bit of gossip on the latest news of what's been going on here."

"Well actually, for one, I'm not Harry. I'm his twin brother, Ron Piazinni." The man was practically drooling on me. "And two, no one said anything about giving away gossip."

"Wha-what? You're not Harry? Then why are you even here?" Jade was turning redder by the second. And so was I. What in the world was going on? I looked desperately at the cameraman, whose mouth was hanging wide open.

"I heard there was a camera crew," Ron mumbled, wiping his mouth on his hand. "Hi, Mom!" He waved stupidly at the camera.

"Oh my god," I whispered. Mr. Highes didn't tell us what we were supposed to do in these situations. I guess, being an actress, Jade and I were going to have to improvise. But it seemed to me like Jade had a completely different idea on improvisation at the moment...

"Well that would explain your horrible fashion and smell. No four-star restaurant owner would ever go out in public looking like that," Jade insulted harshly.

"Hey! You're looks don't make up for your attitude, missy," Ron retorted.

"My _what _don't make up for my _what_?" Jade was aghast.

"You're _looks _don't make up for anything, honey," Ron said, practically grabbing the microphone out of my hand to make sure he was heard clearly.

"We'll at least I've got looks!"

Silence.

Ron lunged for Jade, and in that same moment, I shouted, "We'll go back to André and Robbie back at the main studio!"

"Cut!" the cameraman yelled.

Ron had Jade in an iron headlock, and she was trying to bite his fingers off.

"Not so tough, now, huh dear?" Ron said, choking Jade at the same time.

With the help of the cameraman and the two security guards, we got Ron off of Jade and they took him away. Jade was sitting on the floor at that point, looking incredibly embarrassed and partially in pain.

I offered her my hand and pulled her up.

"You will tell no one about this," she snarled, her lip curling like a lion.

"Okay," I said, putting my hands up in surrender. _Well, it doesn't really matter because all of Vegas already saw a man-bear tackle you, so_…

But I kept to my word to her promise and didn't tell anyone anything more than they already saw.

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><p>"I don't give a care. I don't want to do this anymore," Jade snapped at Sikowitz. We were outside in the parking lot, waiting for our taxis to arrive. Everyone was upset with how the broadcast had gone, and no one was happy, especially not Jade.<p>

"You have to do it," Sikowitz repeated. "We have no replacements. The regular crew is not here yet. You can't just abandon your duties. You are perfectly fine."

"I got attacked by a fat, sweaty guy, Sikowitz. That is not my definition of fine," Jade said crossly.

"This is showbiz, Jade. Maybe next time you should keep your mouth closed more." I'd never seen this side of Sikowitz before. It actually kind of scared me.

Jade bit her lip. I thought she was going to explode. Cat looked terrified, holding tightly onto Robbie's shirt like her life depended on it. André was standing right next to me, frowning, and Beck's eyes were bigger than plates.

"Fine," she grumbled at last, "but if one more bad thing happens, someone's going to die."

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><p><strong>Wow this chapter was like an extra 1,000 words than orginally meant to be. And I wonder why it takes so long to write these. No, I don't have writer's block, because I've already got the entire story planned out, it's just a matter of writing out everything now. :**

**Did you catch my lame Harry Potter reference? Hahaha.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it!**


	14. Day 6 and 7

**I swear, these chapters are getting harder and harder to write... :/**

**But anyway, what about Victorious winning fav TV show during the KCAs? I went absolutely crazy and my whole family was like: SMH.**

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><p>CHAPTER 14 -Day 6-<br>Beck's POV

I slowly opened up my eyes and found myself staring at the ceiling. I reached over to my left, expecting to feel a body, but I ended up hitting the wooden paneling of a bed.

_What the_?

I sat up, finding myself suddenly entangled in a swarm of white blankets. I was soft plush carpet of the hotel room. _Wait…did I fall off the bed again_? I stood up as quickly as I could and looked back onto the bed. Jade was hogging the entire surface, her limbs splayed out like spider, and she was half-covered in blankets (the rest were drooping onto the floor) and snoring softly.

Little did people know, but she was not only a heavy sleeper but also liked to kick…a lot. Twice already had she knocked me off and continued sleeping through it, although I would always wake up and be a little bit frustrated each time.

There was a couch that I considered sleeping on because it wasn't exactly nice to wake up in the morning and expecting to see the girl of your dreams sleeping next to you, but instead finding the dusty area beneath the bed and carpet.

I glanced over at the digital clock. It read 8:05.

Hold on…8:05? Weren't we supposed to be at the studio and starting the broadcast at 8:00?

Suddenly, all of the realization hit me like a train. In an instance, I was halfway across the room and slamming the bathroom door behind me. I found my PearPhone plugged into the outlet by the sink. Yeah, it probably wasn't very smart to keep it there, but Jade's phone was right by our bed and I didn't want to leave my phone on the floor, so this was the only other place I could really put it.

I turned it on and saw no new messages. The time was still 8:05. I dialed Sikowitz immediately, at the same time grabbing my toothbrush, slathering toothpaste on it and jamming it into my mouth.

I looked up in the mirror frantically. My hair looked okay—the same wild fluffy mane I always kept—but then again, it always looked like that anyway.

"Hello?" a sleepy Sikowitz suddenly answered.

"Dood!" I practically shouted, spraying the counter with white foam. I remembered to lower my voice because Jade was still asleep, but she was going to have to wake up eventually so I ran out of the bathroom.

"What?" Sikowitz asked calmly.

"I'nt are broad-cath at a-o'clock?" I said, picking up the nearest pillow on the coach and lobbing it at Jade's head. She didn't even move.

"I can't understand you-u-u, Beck," my teacher responded, obviously stifling a yawn.

I pulled the toothbrush out of my mouth. "Isn't our broadcast at eight o'clock?" I repeated. "It's eight-oh-five now!" I double-checked the alarm clock across the room just to make sure. Yep, I was right.

"Calm down, Beck," Sikowitz muttered airily. "Did no one tell you that we don't have a broadcast today?"

"It's Thursday. Of course we have a broadcast."

"Well calm down, sonny. Last night the regular reporters got here, because apparently the snowstorm eased up enough for the airplane to take off. Mr. Highes wants to work with them this morning, seeing as all of you 'failed' by his standards and each of you practically had some sort of breakdown."

_Breakdown? No one had a breakdown as far as I could remember. Well okay, maybe Cat was _nervous_, but she didn't 'break down.' Jade kind of did with Ron the restaurant owner, but she obviously wasn't 'nervous'…_

"Anyway, I thought that wasn't part of the deal," I said.

"What deal?"

"When we were interviewed to first come on this trip, we read through some brochures. It said that we would have to do a broadcast for ten days. And then the other four were just to be spent goofing off here in Vegas," I recalled.

"Well you always have to be ready for the unexpected. But Mr. Highes's told me that it's been a while since something 'bad' like this happened. And anyway, it was a lot more serious—I think he said something about a shooting."

"See? We got _tranquilizer darts _used on us. We are more than capable of continuing."

"Maybe you are, but I don't think Jade wants to. Or Cat. And anyway, it's too late now. The broadcast started seven minutes ago."

"It would've been nice if you told me earlier so I wouldn't just wake up and be all freaked out like I am now," I complained. Jade was sitting up in bed now, looking at me, her expression like a deer in headlights.

"Sorry, Elvis," Sikowitz apologized.

"Okay, so what are we going to do today then?"

"Well, we can just hang out here, unless the girls or Robbie want to go shopping or something," he said. _Robbie? Well, he is rather 'weird' I guess_. "I think we also have the day off tomorrow too, so there's no rush, if you want to go visit certain places and they're too busy or not open or something."

"All right, cool."

"Yep. So if you want to go out, tell me beforehand, but otherwise, you can sleep in as late as you want."

"Thanks, Sikowitz. Bye!"

I hung up.

"What happened?" Jade asked. She glanced over at the clock. "Holy chiz! We should've been at the studio eight minutes ago!" She threw off the covers and stumbled towards the closet. "What the heck are you doing, Beck! Dang it, Mr. Highes is going to kill us all!"

It was quite a sight to see her panicked for once. I was surprised that she didn't listening to my conversation with Sikowitz, but she was still half-asleep so I couldn't blame her too much. She ran towards me, and I wrapped my arms around her, tackling her down to the floor. But she was in no mood for fooling around.

"Stop it, Beck!" she tried to push away from me.

That hurt my feelings, seeing that she was serious when I was just playing around. I tightened my grip, and she started struggling harder, me laughing silently.

"Beck!" she choked. "We need _to go_…"

"No we don't. I just talked to Sikowitz, if you weren't paying attention. We don't have to go today because the regular reporters are filling in for us," I whispered into her hair.

"Oh. Well in that case." She pushed her back against my chest as hard as she could and I thudded onto the floor, laughing softly and pressing a kiss against her forehead.

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><p>Cat's POV<p>

I woke up with a start and looked around wildly. The hotel room was dark, and I saw Tori snoring loudly on her side of the room. Half of her body was hanging off the edge, and her head was upside-down with her mouth wide opening and snoring loudly.

"Snnaaaaawwww…snnaaawwww…."

"Hee hee," I giggled, throwing off the blanket. I wondered how anyone could sleep and snore like that.

Suddenly, there was a crashing noise, and Tori was on the ground, the blankets spread around her. She rubbed her eyes, looking like a confused puppy.

"Good morning, Tori!" I sang at the top of my lungs and hopping out of bed.

Tori let loose a bunch of garbled noises and flopped back onto the plush carpet while I hurried over to the bathroom.

My red hair was just a mess of tangled magenta strands, so I picked up my brush and started to comb it gently, getting all of the knots out as slow and painlessly as possible.

The last time I checked the clock it had said that it was 8:07 a.m., but I wasn't worried. Sikowitz had came to our room last night and told us that we wouldn't be broadcasting for the next two days because the usual reporters were back and going cover for us since Mr. Highes wasn't very happy with our performance yesterday.

I left the bathroom, still fixing up my hair. Tori hadn't moved from her spot on the floor.

"What do you think we're going to do today?" I asked.

"We're going to go shopping, I think. Or at least I want to," she responded, getting up and sitting on her bed to face me. "Sikowitz said he'd like to check out the hotel, since you know, we haven't actually properly done that yet. But for the most part, I think we have freedom today."

"Oh-kay," I mumbled back.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Tori continued to sit there, a blank look on her face, indicating that I should probably go and answer it. I opened the door and found Robbie standing there awkwardly, still in his pajamas

"Hi, Robbie!" I exclaimed.

He looked at his hands, which were fiddling restlessly, before looking back up at me, his eyes shining. "Hi, Cat. I was, uh, I was just wondering…" he stammered. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Well, you know, since we're not going to be doing a broadcast today, I was, well, I was wondering…"

"Hello, Robbie," Tori said, suddenly standing right behind me.

Robbie nodded a hello, and continued staring at me. "Uhm, well, I was just wondering…do you guys want to go do some sightseeing or something with Rex and me? You don't have to if you don't want to," he added hastily.

"Sightseeing?" Tori sounded doubtful.

Robbie turned white, a sharp contrast from the bright red he was seconds ago, and it looked like he was going to throw up at any moment.

"Well can we go shopping too?" I asked, and he nodded vigorously. "Okay, then sure, I can come."

His expression was appeared enormously relieved.

"All right cool. So I'll come back at 9:00 to pick you up." I don't think he realized that Tori hadn't given him an answer yet. "I'll see you later then!" He disappeared down the hall without another word.

I shut the door, turning to see Tori standing there, her arms crossed, a suspiciously wide smile crossing her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. I hope you have fun with Robbie?" Her smile never turned down, and she walked past me to the beds. The ways she was acting was very suspicious. I didn't see what was wrong with spending a day in Vegas with a cute nerdy guy. Wait…what did I just say?

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><p>Robbie's POV<p>

I was very excited that I was going to spend the day with Cat. I'm not sure about Tori, though; she seemed very hesitant, but that was okay with me. Either way, I'd still get to be with Cat.

I quickly got ready, with André still fast asleep. Sikowitz was bowling by himself, and he had a pretty high score. As I was getting ready to leave the room, Rex, on my arm, I heard my acting teacher say:

"Oh, Robbie, I think Jade might be interested in going shopping with you two. Unless Tori's going."

"Huh?"

"Go see if Beck and Jade want to go with you."

"Okay, fine." I proceeded down the deserted hallway, knocking four times on the solid wood door.

Beck answered, his hair a mess.

"Oh, hello, Robbie."

"Do you and Jade want to come and go sightseeing and shopping with Cat and me?"

"Oh, um…" He looked away awkwardly before calling to his girlfriend. "Hey, baby, do you want to go shopping with Robbie and Cat?"

"No."

"Hold on," Beck said with a wink. He disappeared for a few moments, and there was a scuffling noise. He came back, holding tightly onto Jade, who was wearing a half-buttoned shirt and baggy jeans. "Okay, Robbie, we're coming."

"Beck, let go of me. I don't want to go, especially not with that guy!"

"Nope. We're going." Beck was adamant.

"I don't even have my purse."

"I'm sure Cat will have something for you," he replied with a grin.

"I hate you."

"And I love you, too." Beck stuck his tongue out at Jade, who continued to glare at him angrily.

We made our way to Tori and Cat's room. Jade pounded on the door before Beck and I could get there.

"Wake up, Vega! You too, Cat!"

Cat opened up the door, her face shining brightly. "Tori's not coming. She wants to sleep some more."

"WAKE UP, VEGA!" Jade yelled obnoxiously loud, trying to push Cat out of the way and get into the room.

"Go away," came back Tori's lame response. Cat quickly closed the door before Jade could get past her. We made our way down to the elevators, everyone looking at each other as we waited for the elevator.

Finally, Beck said, "Let's go have some fun in Vegas!"

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><p>-DAY 7-<br>Trina's POV

It was Friday afternoon, and I was, for the first time, not looking forward to the weekend. No doubt Mom and Dad would keep me busy with chores, and it wasn't like I could have any fun anyway since I wasn't allowed to go anywhere or have anyone over.

I was in the black box theater, standing in the back. Lane had brought a group of people here for some unknown reason, not that I really cared. I spotted Sinjin near the front, standing behind a fancy-looking camera and a newly set-up screen across the wall.

None of _my _friends were here so I sat down in the last row of chairs by myself.

Lane appeared at the front of theater, smiling eagerly.

"All right, well, you're probably all wondering why I've called you here today," he said, eyes gleaming.

_No, not really_.

"Do you see this screen right here? And this camera?" He gestured to Sinjin's camera and the movie-like screen. "Well, I've managed to get ahold of Sikowitz and the students there, and they agreed to do a v-chat with you guys about their experiences so far. So please be polite, as this is a privilege and you were all individually selected by the students themselves to talk to."

Everyone nodded meekly.

Without another moment, the screen lighted up, and my very own baby sister appeared. She waved furiously, then stopped, turning her head to the left and moving her mouth. There was a loud popping noise and we heard a burst of chatter coming from the speakers. Sinjin swiveled the camera around expertly, probably letting the others see exactly whom they were v-chatting with.

"Hi, everybody!" Tori shouted.

A few scattered hellos were heard briefly around the room.

"Hello, Tori," Lane answered enthusiastically as Sinjin focused the camera on him. "Where's Sikowitz?"

"Right here." The teacher-chaperone appeared in the far corner of the screen. "Hello, everybody and Lane. We're in Vegas."

_No duh. I would be there with you guys, if it hadn't been for Tori and her stupid friends_.

"If you guys have any questions for them, just say so," Lane explained. "Where's the rest of them, Sikowitz?"

"Oh, they're right here." Sikowitz turned around and waved his arms. Suddenly Beck and Jade came into view, trying to fit themselves between Tori and Sikowitz unsuccessfully.

"Are you guys having fun so far?" someone in the front asked.

"You bet," my sister answered, struggling to stay in view of the camera, since Jade was slowly leaning on her with increasing weight and pushing her out of the way. "We had a day off yesterday so we went shopping and stuff…" Her voice trailed off significantly as she struggled against Jade. Beck had moved behind them and was watching with an amused look.

"What's it like being on TV?" another said.

"Just great, just great," Tori squeaked, now half gone from view.

"Stop it, Jade," Sikowitz finally reprimanded, pulling the two scuffling girls apart. Tori huffed several times angrily and brushed off her shirt, Jade looking at her with an evil glint in her eye.

"It's Cat!"

I saw the familiar redhead bounce into the camera's view even before her name was mentioned. Tori, Jade, Beck and Sikowitz melted away to be replaced by her, Robbie and André.

"What's it like being on TV?" the same person repeated.

"It's really, really cool," André said, and I was glad that someone was finally giving an actual answer. There was some brief shouting of Sikowitz and Beck, and I heard Jade whining and Tori sounded upset.

"But doing it live is kind of hard," Cat put in. "If it was just a regular TV show, like the ones I used to watch on Nickelodeon with my brother all the time, it would be easier to film, since we would instead record months ahead of time and stuff."

I had no idea what she was trying to say.

"Did you guys get to look around Vegas yet? Meet any famous people?"

"They met me," I heard Jade shout. That was unusually conceited of her, and we all know that one day, after we all graduate high school, _I'll _be the first to be signed onto a future Oscar-winning film.

"No. I meant like currently, superstar status people."

"We met Jade," Cat insisted, playing along with Jade's joke, an adoring smile on her face.

"Did you visit anywhere interesting?"

"We went to a haunted house—well, at least Beck, Jade and Cat did—and we also visited a three-story tall candy store," André said, grinning gleefully.

"How did your first broadcast go?" I asked, wanting to participate in the action.

"It was uh, it went okay, I think, for the first time." André looked extremely sheepish. "Um, of course, we had our few mistakes, but besides those—"

"Be specific!" I demanded.

"Well, five minutes before we aired Tori spilt a whole bunch of water on Beck, and Jade saw the whole thing so she started yelling at Tori nonstop before they finally turned off her camera."

"Cat was really funny though," Robbie interrupted, staring down at her. "She kept pointing to the wrong cities and stuff when she was reporting the weather, which the boss wasn't very happy about."

"But Robbie got yelled at on-air," Cat argued back, playfully determined to one-up the boys. "Because Rex was being really rude to the teams. And now he's not allowed to be on the show anymore."

"Who, Robbie?"

"No, Rex."

There was a silence as some people snickered.

"So how have your guys' past few days been?" Man, Lane couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?

"We got ambushed in the studio," Cat said complacently. "And Jade and Sikowitz got hit with these knock-out dart thingys—"

"They're called tranquilizer darts, Cat," André corrected. Lane's eyebrows shot up. I grumbled, already having this information known to me.

"But everyone's okay," Cat said, obviously must have seeing the shocked looks

on everyone's faces. "It was a very exciting experience. Robbie said he tied Jade to his—"

"Yeah okay, we don't need to go that much into detail!" Robbie interrupted, turning scarlet. _Tied Jade up? With what? I thought she had a thing on with Beck_. "And anyway, I helped save her life, so ha!"

"You slapped her," André said, looking at him funny.

Everyone burst into laughter just at the thought of Robbie slapping Jade. Suddenly, Jade appeared, and she looked _upset_.

"Yeah, okay, that's enough for you guys to know," she muttered, staring hard at the screen as if she were trying to figure out how to turn it off.

"Wait Jade, I'm sorry—" André tried to say.

"No, Jade, don't turn it off, we're not done yet," Sikowitz said, coming over and trying to move Jade's hands out of the way of the power button. "We still need to—"

The screen turned gray and the 'No Signal' words popped up. Everyone was still laughing quietly, and Lane came back up, obviously looking a little bit perturbed that the chat ended sooner than planned.

"Okay, well I hope you enjoyed whatever that was. You may all go now."

Despite what I was thinking earlier of not be exciting for the weekend, I had my things picked up and was the first one out the door.

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><p><strong>Well, the gang are officially halfway through their visit to Vegas! Hooray! So that means only a couple more chapters for me to write and you to read. :)<strong>

**Review!**


	15. Day 8 through 11

**More excitement in this chapter! Hurrah!**

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><p>CHAPTER 15 -DAY 11-<br>Tori's POV

The past few days were probably the most hectic moments of my life. We had gotten the old studio back and each time we did a broadcast our performances increased tenfold. As a matter of fact, Mr. Highes told us that we were one of the best Vegas 777 kids he'd ever seen in all the years of hosting the program, which I guess was a really good thing considering that man is like sixty years old. But then again, he was extremely bipolar and was obviously hiding something, so maybe not.

And because of all the good work, Mr. Highes had decided to take the majority of the crew and us out for a fancy dinner at a supposed five-star restaurant (thank goodness it wasn't that Harry's Steak House place) to celebrate.

We were all dressed up as nicely as we could, but since no one was really expecting to go anywhere so fancy none of us had brought hundred-dollar dresses or suits. Oh well, I think we looked nice enough in skirts and button-up shirts or dress pants with ties.

Instead of having to take a dirty taxi to the restaurant, Mr. Highes sent a limo-van thing to The Royale that we took. It was sleek and black, and the inside was absolutely beautiful with leather couches and even a fancy bar. Panels of lights were hung on the wall that randomly lit up in different colors, a showering everything in a bright glow. But the most amusing feature was probably the two silver poles that were set up right in the middle of the large space.

Looking doubtful, I sat down on the nearest cushiony seat as everyone followed in behind me, observing the decked-out area and murmuring in awe. Jade was the last one to get in, next to Sikowitz, and her eyes got big when she saw the shiny rods.

"Are these what I think they are?" she asked, running over to one pole and grabbing it with both hands. Smiling suspiciously, she started doing some weird and very seducing dance around the metallic object, throwing her head back and wrapping her legs around it.

"Get off of that, Jade," Sikowitz disapproved as he boarded and saw the girl gyrating around the pole in a stripper-like fashion. Everyone was smirking but Beck and Jade. She sauntered away, her hips swinging more than usual and sitting down next to her boyfriend, who cast a weird glance at her.

"Like that?" she whispered.

"Save it for the hotel," he replied, slipping his arm around her. I looked up at the ceiling, my ears burning at what I had just heard. Maybe they were more into a relationship than anyone really thought.

We made it to the restaurant in no time at all. It turned out to be very fancy Chinese restaurant, four times nicer than Wok Star, although the food there was really good. Everyone piled out of the vehicle and we approached the looming building in pairs like celebrities on the red carpet: André and I, Cat and Robbie, Beck and Jade, and Sikowitz was a loner in the back.

Just the outside of the restaurant was intimidating enough. It sparkled gold in the darkness of the night, carvings of dragons striking the surface, the name written in cursive type, the letters beaming at us.

I felt André grab my hand and I looked at him.

"You look so nervous, Tor. What's up with that?"

"What? I'm not nervous. What part of me are you looking at?"

I didn't realize how awkward that question was until it came out of my mouth. André stared at me uncomfortably (in the eyes, by the way) before looking away as we arrived at the front doors.

Suddenly we both burst into laughter as the doors swung open, permitting us to enter.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>André's POV<p>

The hostess took us through the gigantic restaurant to a private back room where Mr. Highes and some of his crewmembers were waiting for us. They shook our hands like we'd never met before as we sat down in one of the booths, while they took the tables for themselves.

Half a dozen waiters and waitresses came in to hand out menus and get drink orders. I was wedged between Tori and Robbie, while the other three sat across from us. Sikowitz was at the head of the table, rifling through his menu with ease.

"This is a pretty nice place," Robbie commented.

"Reminds me of Wok Star," Tori said.

I looked up at the ceiling hesitantly. There were big, red paper lanterns shimmering in the dimness of the room, the lights leaping onto the gold and silver dragon designs on the walls, along with picture frames full of fancy Chinese writing. You could hear the trickling of the bamboo fountain near the door of the room just faintly. It did seem very peaceful and relaxed indeed.

The waiters came back to bring our drinks, carefully spreading out the orders on wooden coasters onto the table in front of us. Sikowitz picked up his coconut milk-filled glass and held it in the air.

"To Vegas 777," he said.

We all lifted up our drinks after him. "To Vegas 777," we repeated, glasses and soda cans clinking together quietly before we all took a sip.

Mr. Highes approached our table after we had settled down; beaming thoroughly and bouncing up and down almost like Cat did on a regular basis, which was certainly an odd sight. It was one thing to see a sixteen-year-old girl do it, let alone a sixty-year-old man. He was holding a glass of wine, which was swishing around hazardously and threatening to spill out.

"You like the restaurant, no?" he asked in a mock attempt Italian accent and despite the fact we were in a Chinese place.

"Well, considering we haven't even tried the food yet, it's all right," Sikowitz answered calmly, taking another drink of coconut milk.

Mr. Highes threw his head back and laughed. "Ai, you are a funny one, Mr. Sikowitz," he murmured, wiping his eyes with his free hand. "You try the wine, yes?"

"Oh no thank you, kind sir. I don't drink."

"Are you sure? It's on the house."

"Yes, I am pos-i-tive," Sikowitz replied, stretching out the word for emphasis. Mr. Highes looked at each of us, like he was going to ask us to drink some too. But finally he gave a curt nod and bounded away to some of his employees.

"He kind of scares me," Cat whispered.

"I know right?" Robbie agreed.

Sikowitz watched as they chatted quietly. The waiters and waitresses came out and put some kind of white fluffy bread I've never seen before on everyone's tables. Jade took the first piece, and Beck followed. Cat passed while Robbie and I grabbed a slice.

"I need to use the bathroom," Tori announced unnecessarily loud once everyone was chewing noisily.

"Great to know," Jade mumbled around her food.

Tori stood up, knocking the table forward. I pushed Robbie and he filed out of our side of the booth, me following him to let Tori out.

"You know where they are, right?" Sikowitz asked.

"Yeah. I'll be back." Tori stalked off.

We went back into the booth and continued eating. Ten minutes later, refills for drinks came out, which practically everyone accepted. When we were finished with the bread, we resorted to texting each other and playing games on our PearPhones when I suddenly realized that it had been twenty full minutes and Tori was not back yet.

"Did anyone see Tori?" I inquired, tapping my contacts on my phone.

"I think she might still be in the bathroom," Cat pointed out.

"Man, she really must be taking a dump," Jade said. Beck tapped her head at her amusing comment and she smiled at him.

"Cat, could you go and see if Tori's still in the bathroom?" Sikowitz asked, leaning towards the table and pushing the empty, crumb-scattered plate out of his way.

"Kay kay!" she replied excitedly, getting up and leaving the private room.

"Hey, where's Mr. Highes?" Robbie asked.

Slowly, we all looked around the room. The billionaire was nowhere to be seen. A bad feeling buzzed in the back of my head, and I took a sip of my drink quickly.

"You don't think…" Beck began.

"…He's with Tori?" I finished, and he nodded. "Maybe, maybe not. But it's possible. I just don't really trust him, that's all."

"Yeah, I mean look at what happened to us at the studio a couple days ago," Jade said, crunching ice in her teeth at an obnoxious volume. "He was the only one that got out _before _the police came to get the rest of us out."

"Hey," Sikowitz interrupted, "I don't want you kids talking trash about Mr. Highes, okay?"

"He sets himself up for it, you know?" Jade responded. "He's so bipolar sometimes I think him and Cat are like, related or—"

"Just because he's _different _from us doesn't mean anything," Sikowitz replied.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, very curious now.

"Well, Mr. Highes has a special disor—"

Cat suddenly appeared at Sikowitz's side, looking sober. Everyone shut up upon her arrival.

"Tori's not in the bathroom," she said, sitting back next to Jade.

"How many bathrooms are in a place like this? Maybe there's more than one."

"I dunno," Cat said, playing with her chopsticks.

"Um, excuse me, Miss?" Sikowitz called politely to a waitress nearby taking orders from another table. "How many woman's restrooms are here?"

The lady stared at him like he was crazy. No wonder, I would too if there was a full-grown man asking for the girl's room. Finally, she said, "We have two men's and woman's rooms…"

"Ah, thank you, dear. That's all I needed to know."

"Anytime," the woman said cautiously before moving away.

"Jade, can you go with Cat this time and try to find Tori?" Sikowitz asked the girl sweetly, knowing that the redhead wasn't completely trustworthy, as adorable as she was.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Just do it, Jade," Beck sighed, nudging his girlfriend gently.

She shook her head and replied with, "Why don't you go instead?"

"I'm not a girl," he said confusedly.

"Well that's too bad."

"Jade, just go," I begged and she looked at me, obviously annoyed. But Cat tugged on her arm, and with an overly dramatic sigh, she got up and left with the little redhead.

"What is so hard about taking a trip to the bathroom?" I muttered.

"The world may never know," Robbie replied.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

The bathroom was absolutely magnificent. It seemed like it was roughly the size of my house, with dozens of gold-painted stalls, mirrors that traveled the full lengths of the walls, and almost everything was automatic. The sink counters gleamed white marble and my favorite turbo-jet dryers were there too.

I was getting ready to leave, after fixing my hair slightly in the one of the mirrors. I opened the door, still gawking at the peacefulness of the place. There was one more door for me to properly open in order to get to the 'outside' world. I ended up in a dark hall, one end opening up to the rest of the restaurant. As I made my way towards there, someone out of nowhere stepped in front of me.

At the same time, there was something cold pressed against the back of my head and a hand wrapped around my face, covering up my mouth. Instinctively, I dropped my purse, trying to pry off the person's hands desperately in an attempt to get free. The object on my head pressed down harder and harder until I saw black dots spotting my vision, and gave up the fight.

"'Atta girl," a menacing voice whispered hotly into my ear, "No struggles, no problems. Let's keep it that way, okay?" I shivered, terrified out of my mind.

The person in front of me, a very big man in a solid black suit, lunged forward and slapped something across my mouth as the person released me from behind. Then Suit-guy picked me up in a bear hug and flung me over his shoulder. The other man walked around and taped my hands behind my back and my ankles together with more tape while I dangled in the air helplessly.

Suit-guy and his partner carried me into the boy's bathroom, a sinking feeling in my heart. The brighter lights gave me a better look at my captors, though: Suit-guy towered at least six feet, and he was even wearing black sunglasses so I couldn't see his eyes. The other man was a lot scrawnier, and his eyebrows arched so high it gave him a permanent 'evil' look.

I was set onto the cold tiled floor (at least it was clean) and Eyebrows was holding my purse, already starting to go through it. I stamped my feet—or at least tried to—in frustration.

"Mmmuutt moo 'ooo mffnntt mff mmee?" I mumbled. Suit-guy pulled out a small gun and pointed it at my face. Oops, probably not a good time to say anything, huh?

"Don't talk now. We'll be out of here in no time, girlie," Eyebrows said, running over to the far side and opening up the window. First he through my purse out and then gestured to Suit-guy who picked me back up and hauled me over to the window.

_Holy cow! I'm not going to fit…not because I'm fat, but because that's a very small window_! I panicked.

But lucky Suit-guy was surprisingly gently and more carried me through the window than threw me, and my body barely scraping the edges. But once I was mostly through, I realized there was a bit of a drop, and my body went into overload until Suit-guy let go, but I landed safely face-first on some really big, cushiony garbage bags.

I rolled off (and ended up in a puddle) and sat up, observing my surroundings. We were in the restaurant's back alley, and several yards away I saw another window, this time of the kitchen, and could hear the faint sound of banging pots and pans and people shouting at each other in Mandarin.

Eyebrows came through the window after me in a neat fashion, landing on the bags and doing a shoulder-roll forward, grabbing me, probably to keep me from running, but I couldn't even stand up.

However, Suit-guy ended up getting stuck with his large body wedged between the window space.

"Oh, god, Walter, you really need to lay off the potato chips," Eyebrows groaned. He looked around and spotted tin garbage cans, and dragged one over to the window, steadily balancing on the lid and taking both of Walter's hands, pulling back sharply as I watched, confused.

"Well sorry, Nicolas, but when a man's gotta eat, a man's gotta—OOF!" Walter came flying out and landing in a heap on top of poor Nicolas. Too bad they made such a clutter, with the garbage can toppling over, releasing a sound equivalent of cymbals smashing together.

There was a silence coming out of the kitchen window.

"Oops, sorry, buddy." Walter stood up and brushed off his black suit. He turned to me, also noticing the kitchen window. "Oh crap, Nicolas, we'd better get out of here. I think someone might've heard us."

"Well, if they did, it would've been your fault anyway," Nicolas retorted. But nonetheless, the two men worked quickly. Walter put a gun to my head as he picked me up. Nicolas tugged us along, and we ended up in the back alley of a filthy nearby bar.

I was set onto the ground.

"Sorry about that, Miss. But anyway, you can call me Mr. Lowes," Walter said, painfully ripping the tape off of my mouth.

I opened my jaws wide and closed them, feeling the annoying sting on my cheeks. I considered shouting for help, but first off, no one would probably hear me, and anyway we were by a bar for goodness' sake, and I doubt if anyone were sober enough to hear me they wouldn't do much.

"What do you want with me?" I asked quietly.

"You're a pretty teenage girl," Mr. Lowes said simply. "You ought to have some sort of money on you, correct?" I stared at him with my best imitation-Jade look. He actually flinched a little bit. "Geez, you look a lot like another girl we tried to rob the other—" he stopped abruptly, glancing at Nicolas, who didn't seem to be paying attention. "Hey, Nic, check out her purse, will ya?" He cocked the gun in my face.

_Hold on, Mr. Lowes said I looked 'familiar' when we've never met before…but he's met Jade I think and that's the expression I was attempting to show…could these be the men who escaped but after they had partially destroyed the studio the other day_?

_Sikowitz said they only caught one woman that day, but the police knew the others had gotten away_…

Nicolas grinned evilly and started rifling through the contents of my bag.

"You get your filthy mitts out of there," I shouted.

"You live here, in Vegas, permanently?" Nicolas wondered.

"Oh, Nic, you didn't introduce yourself yet," Mr. Lowes said suddenly.

Nicolas rolled his eyes at his partner. "Okay, whatever. I'm Mr. Right, isn't that correct, Mr. Lowes?" Walter nodded eagerly. "And, girlie, I asked you a question. So I need an answer."

I clamped my jaw shut.

"Oh, never mind. What's this?" Mr. Right was holding a card. On closer look, with a jolt I realized it was my hotel key, the name 'The Royale' gleaming in the darkness of the alley. "Well, that certainly narrows it down."

"Hey, are you one of those Vegas 777 kids?" Mr. Lowes butted in.

"Vegas 777? What's that?" I feigned.

"It was all over the news a few days ago," Mr. Lowes continued, "said that the studio where it was filmed got ambushed by a couple people. Some of the kids got hurt, unfortunately."

"So you were the ones that did the ambushing then," I said.

"What? No!" Mr. Lowes denied, but I knew he was lying.

"She knows too much, _Mr. Lowes_," Mr. Right seethed, his eyebrows contracting to become one furry line across his forehead. Another gun appeared out of his pocket and he pushed it against the bridge of my nose. "Tell us what you know about the Vegas 777 program and the ambush that happened a few days ago."

"I don't know!" I shrieked.

"She's lying," Mr. Lowes said harshly, and I realized he was a lot smarter than he acted. "She's one of them!"

Mr. Right jumped up and down, pointing an accusing finger at me. "She is, isn't she? What's her name, uh, Jade Vega, I think."

I rolled my eyes. _Oh sure, get me mixed up with that witch why don't you_.

"Then that must mean she's loaded," Mr. Lowes said solemnly. He was gripping the handle of his own gun very tightly, and kept it now pointed at my chest.

"What room number do you have at The Royale?" Mr. Right questioned.

I didn't say a word. Mr. Right aimed his gun at the bar's brick walls and pulled the trigger. There wasn't a noise, but you could see the smoke rising from the barrel and the intimidating dent in the wall. Those certainly weren't toy guns.

"Tell me, Jade Vega, or I'll pull the trigger." The gun now faced my temple once again, the cold opening shoved against it hard. I narrowed my eyes trying to get a good look at it.

I contemplated if dying would be worth keeping the secret of our hotel room. _Nope, definitely not_. I took a deep breath and whispered, "Floor thirty, room C."

"Excellent. Let's get going, Walter," Mr. Right straightened back up. Tape was placed across my face again and Mr. Lowes picked me up. "Nighty, nighty, kid. We'll see back again at the hotel, okay?"

At that moment, the gun tapped my temple sharply, and the last thing I saw was the dirty ground of the back alley before I blacked out.

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><p><strong>Well don't one of those two men seem very familiar? Hmm...<strong>

**And darn! We were so close to figuring out what is up with Mr. Highes, huh? Well don't worry, it will be revealed at some point...I hope mwahahahaha. :D**

**Review!**


	16. Day 11: The Search Begins

**So to catch up on what's happening: Something is officially wrong with Mr. Highes but they don't know what, they have their daily broadcasts to worry about, and Tori has just been kidnapped. **

**Oh boy, this can't end well can it?**

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><p>CHAPTER 16 -DAY 11 continued-<p>

Jade's POV

"Come on, Cat, you can look at the fish later." We were attempting to get back to our table from both the bathrooms—which Vega was in neither of—but Cat kept wanting to look at the paintings on the wall or the little statues and fountains, and now the gigantic crystal tank of fish like the ones in the Asian markets.

"Ooo, this fish is so pretty Jade," she told me, pointing to a lively one.

"Well, that one's going to end up being someone's dinner at some point, so let's stop bothering their last few hours on Earth and get back to the others," I said pointedly.

"What?" Cat was aghast. "People eat these fish?"

"Yes!" I exasperated. "What kind of fish did you think we were going to be eating? Tofu ones?"

Cat looked like she was about to cry. "But they're so pretty," she whispered, her eyes big and shining. She touched the glass tank in a dramatic way, and I rolled my eyes, grabbing her hand and leading her away.

"Let's go. We can mourn for them later, okay?"

She was so sniffling loudly and wiping her now runny nose that I was getting worried some people would think that had I hurt her or something, which was certainly not the case. In front of everyone, I took off my sweater, balled it up, and shoved it in Cat's face so her sobs wouldn't be heard, nor her face seen.

We arrived at the table, all eyes on us.

"Did you find Tori?" André looked _way _too hopeful as Cat and I slid down next to Beck.

"Well, Cat found some fish," I smiled sarcastically at the girl rubbing her face all over my nice sweater. Maybe next time I'd tell her to just suck it up. "But other than that, no. Vega's obviously left the restaurant or something."

"What's wrong, Cat?" Robbie asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"I saw some fish and they were really pretty but then Jade told me that they would be someone's dinner!" she blubbered.

Robbie shot me a glare that was almost terrifying. Of course, I gave him twice as scary and he shrunk back to patting Cat on the head and holding her hand from across the table.

"Hey, can we focus on Tori, please?" André interrupted.

"Fine. What about her?" I growled.

"Where could she be?" he asked.

"Maybe she went back to the hotel," Beck supplied, putting his arm around me, maybe thinking that I was cold because Cat had my sweater, but I was quite the opposite.

"Why would she do that?" Sikowitz wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just bored of hanging around you guys and wanted to get a break," I suggested.

"No, she was probably just sick of _you_," Robbie said.

The table went silent as I stared at him. _Oh no, he did _not _just say that_. Robbie slumped down in his chair, obviously regretting his comeback. I pulled my hand back to reach over and slap him, but Cat caught it before I could and Beck held my waist firmly to keep me from getting up.

"Okay, guys, stop." Sikowitz waved his hands to take order. "Where's Mr. Highes? Maybe he knows—"

"Did someone say my name?" Mr. Highes appeared out of nowhere on Sikowitz's right side. Our teacher jumped in his seat, hands waving like windmills. He grabbed his heart, staring at Mr. Highes in absolute shock. I grinned slightly, until I set eye on the billionaire.

His eyes were blood red, hair tussled, and drool was drying in white streaks on the corners of his mouth. A woman was holding onto one of his arms, trying to pull him away, but he wouldn't give in.

"Hello, sir," Beck said in a sucking-up manner.

The assistant spoke before Mr. Highes could.

"I'm sorry to say this kids, but Mr. Highes needs to go. It's a very urgent matter and—" She pulled on his arm as he was starting to touch Cat's hair, who was completely oblivious, "—he would apologize himself if he were in a state to do so."

Mr. Highes was standing right next to her, and he had just spoken a few seconds ago. What the heck?

"What's going on?" Sikowitz asked, voicing my thoughts.

"Show 'em, Nancy," Mr. Highes slurred. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a series of bright red cuts, some oozing blood. It was extremely fascinating how a sixty-something year old man would cut himself, but no one else found it amusing.

Nancy slapped his hand and pulled the sleeve down, but it was too late, as we had seen everything.

André stood up, alarmed.

"I'm so sorry, but there's no time to explain," she said breathlessly, trying to drag the man away from us.

"Leave me be, woman! I am Jeffrey Highes, a proud billionaire of Vegas! I go when I want to, and I stay if I choose!" Mr. Highes boomed, seeming to snap out of his trance.

Nancy said nothing, using both hands to control him.

"Hey! Sonny, sit down! I am trying to speak!" Mr. Highes's eyes rolled and he pointed furiously at André. Another man came over and grabbed onto his other arm, placing a hand over his mouth, and together, they took Mr. Highes out of the room.

Everyone sitting at the tables was silent.

"Someone tell me what just happened!" Beck demanded, standing up and indicating to the crewmembers. No one moved or even whispered a word to each other.

"It's all right, sir. Sometimes Mr. Highes cannot control it," a mustached man told Beck calmly.

"Can't control what?"

"Okay, we'll talk about this later," Sikowitz interrupted. The mustached man fell silent upon Sikowitz's stare. Things were getting pretty serious right now. "We need to find Tori."

"Sikowitz—"

"No more questions, Beck." Sikowitz almost looked angry. Beck sat down, but André remained standing.

"So maybe she's at the hotel," Robbie said quietly, trying to break the awkwardness. "We should go and check it out."

"But I want to try out the food," I whined.

"Then you can stay. But I think I'll need to go, seeing as I am the 'responsible' chaperone after all," Sikowitz said, getting up.

"I'll go with you," André volunteered.

"Me too," Beck said. I gasped as he stood up, tugging on the bottom of his shirt to get him to sit down again.

"What are you doing?" I whispered frantically.

"I'm going to find Tori with André and Sikowitz." But it was obvious to me that he just wanted to ask Sikowitz more questions about Mr. Highes. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to know what was up with the psychotic billionaire too, but for some reason, this didn't seem like a great time to say anything.

Sikowitz stared at me, his eyes full of guilt. "Take the limo back when the party's over," he instructed us. "We'll text you guys if we find her."

I watched almost tearfully as Beck grabbed Andrés shaking shoulders and led him out of the room. Sikowitz nodded curtly to the staff and crewmembers before going after the boys, leaving me with Cat and Robbie.

It's amazing how one little vacation can turn out to be a nightmare and threaten to tear apart relationships.

"Oh, where are they going?" Cat had finally stopped crying and lifted her tear-stained face off of my sweater. I could not believe she missed all of the action.

"Nowhere important," I muttered, staring after them.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

Jade looked pretty upset when I left her with Cat and Robbie. I don't think she was very happy with me right now. But no big deal, she always acted like that when I went to help Tori out, although there were multiple reasons for me going with Sikowitz and André.

We were taking a taxi back to The Royale. Sikowitz was in front with the driver, while André was with me in the back.

"So," I said causally, "Sikowitz, do you want to tell us what's wrong with Mr. Highes since you didn't let that other guy tell me?"

"No."

"Why not?" I hated being naggy, but this was serious. And I didn't want to have to be scared of that billionaire anymore…not that I was now.

"I'm surprised none of you figured it out yet," he replied.

"What? So this guy has serious mood swing problems, _cuts himself_, and that's it, right? He just sounds bipolar to me."

"Maybe, maybe not." That was the last thing Sikowitz said about the subject.

We arrived at the hotel, and Sikowitz paid the driver the fee and we piled out, running towards the entrance.

"Are we going to split up or anything?" André asked.

"Yes. I'll go up to the rooms, and I want you two to ask the hotel staff if maybe they saw her or something, okay?" Sikowitz replied. "And later, if we still don't find her, which I hope to God doesn't happen, we'll have to phone the Vegas and tell them what's happened to their youngest daughter."

"Roger that," André said.

We broke apart, me in the lead as we went over to the main counters. We were at the back of the line, and thankfully it wasn't too long. I tapped my foot impatiently and André popping noises in his mouth and slapping his thigh like a beat boxer.

When we got to the front, André said quickly, "Have you seen a girl that looks like this?" And he pulled out his phone and showed the lady a picture of Tori.

The woman thought for a moment. "No, I'm sorry."

André was obviously trying hard to keep his emotions in. "All right, thank you. But if you do see her, could you tell her that André is looking for her?"

"Will do," the woman replied, although I don't think she really meant it. She turned to the next people in line as we shuffled away, heads held down dejectedly. We sat down on some of the red plush couches in the reception area.

"So now what?" André asked.

"We wait here until Sikowitz or Tori show up," I responded, picking up a newspaper and opening it up in front of me.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

I woke up in a black van, lying on the cold floor, my hands, ankles and mouth still taped up. My head hurt just slightly, but it was tolerable. I looked around, seeing the intimidating shadows of my captors in the front seats of the vehicle. I slapped the ground with my hand since I couldn't speak.

"Oh, look who's awake," I heard Mr. Right's screechy voice. "How are you doing dear? Just in time, we're at the hotel right now."

The van came to a jerky stop and both men left the front, circling around and opening the back doors. Mr. Lowes picked me up, and I got a good view of where we were. We were in a nearby alley that was littered with trash and smelled disgusting.

"Floor thirty, room C is that correct?" Mr. Right repeated.

I didn't know if I should nod or not.

"Answer me, girlie," Mr. Right said, and I nodded, fearing that he was going to hurt me or something.

We came up to a door that had camouflaged itself with the brick wall. Mr. Right wrenched it open, allowing Mr. Lowes with me to step through. The room turned out to be a giant, dimly lit staircase, one that I didn't even know existed.

Mr. Right reached down and pulled the tape off my ankles. "You'll be walking dear," he said at the same time. "Walter, keep an eye on her. I'll be waiting for you both on the fifteenth floor, okay?" He stalked off to take the elevator, but by himself, I wondered why.

"It's all right, Miss Jade Vega," Mr. Lowes said calmly, looping one arm around mine and pulling me up a few steps. I was trying to be as uncooperative as possible. "Only a few hundred steps and we'll be up to your room. Mr. Right doesn't want us to take the elevator, you see, because he doesn't want anyone to see you."

_Oh, well that would explain it_.

"Come on now, it's not that far," he tugged at my arm, while I remained as motionless as possible. Finally he sighed and pulled out his gun, which I forget he still had.

I was up and walking within an instant.

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><p>I was panting pathetically hard around the tape on my mouth and we were only on the fifth floor.<p>

"What's wrong now?" Mr. Lowes asked, noticing that I was losing speed.

"Mmo maarr," I gasped, "moo miiredd…"

Mr. Lowes tapped his chin while I repeated my muffled words. He snapped his fingers, saying, "'So far, too tired?'" I nodded, and he fist-pumped the air. "Yes! I am _great _at charades!"

I rolled my eyes. This wasn't even charades.

"Well, okay, but don't say anything to Nicolas, okay? I don't think he'll be very happy with me." I had no idea what he was talking about, but suddenly he came over and scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder and proceeding to trudge up the steps while holding my legs so I wouldn't kick him in the face, not that I was planning on it. This guy wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.

When we finally came to the fifteenth floor, Mr. Right was on the landing, waiting.

"What the heck, Walter? She has legs. She can walk," he reprimanded his partner as he set me on the floor within arm's length so I couldn't dart away.

Mr. Lowes looked sheepish. "Well, sorry, Nic, but I felt kinda bad…"

"You felt _bad_?" I knew right away that Mr. Lowes had said the wrong thing, and he knew too. The larger man drew himself up and cowered against the wall behind him as Mr. Right got in his face, muttering things that were too fast for me to understand.

"I-I'm sorry. No. It won't happen again. I promise. Swear to my mother, I do," were the only things I could make out from Mr. Lowes's responses.

"Fine. Take the elevator to the thirtieth floor and find room C, okay?" Mr. Right thrust my hotel key in front of Mr. Lowes's face. "Get yourself into the room and start raiding everything, okay? We'll be up in a jiffy, I promise." He glared at me and I gulped.

Mr. Lowes speeded away to the elevators and Mr. Right grabbed me roughly by the arm. He wasn't nearly as nice as Mr. Lowes was.

"Let's get going kid."

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><p>Mr. Right ended up viciously dragging me along the last few floors because I just couldn't do it anymore. My back was probably all bruised along with my legs and ankles.<p>

However, I managed to limp with him to room C, and he knocked on the door cautiously. _Oh, if only my friends were here to rescue me_! Mr. Lowes peeped open the door and let us in.

"Sorry, Nic, but I didn't get very far. There was a bald guy in here before me, and I almost ran into him," Mr. Lowes apologized. _A bald guy? Sikowitz was here_? My heart started beating fast. "But luckily he went out and left. Does he sound familiar to you, kid?"

But of course I still couldn't talk with the tape in the way. Mr. Lowes shrugged and stepped aside.

I don't know what he meant by 'I didn't get very far,' but the room was already badly trashed. Cat's and my luggage were ripped open and the contents spilled out on the beds, clothes hanging off onto the floor and our souvenirs we had bought the previous days. In the bathroom, the counters were swiped off and everything was knocked over.

"Didja find any cash?" Mr. Right asked greedily as they tied me one of the fence bars surrounding the pool so I could sit there and watch them destroy our room.

"Not yet," Mr. Lowes replied, rifling through Cat's luggage. "Dang, how old are you, Jade? Why you got all these stuffed animals in here?"

I actually almost laughed. Of course Cat would want to bring her friends along. But then I also noticed that he was calling me 'Jade,' which I was not very thrilled about.

They the next twenty stuffing their pockets full of our nice jewelry and other irreplaceable items, but mostly the huge wad of cash that was in Cat's trunk. Apparently, there was a secret compartment that had (according to Mr. Right) almost three hundred dollars and they were very satisfied after that.

I must've dozed off or something because suddenly Mr. Lowes was standing in front of me.

"You awake, girl?" He prodded my face.

I snapped out of it, staring at him. "Are you finished yet?"

"Yeah. We finally got what we were looking for." He held up a huge wad of twenty-dollar bills wrapped with two thick rubber bands. "We're just gonna decide what to do with you now," he replied. I gulped.

"You aren't going to kill, are you?" I asked quietly.

"No, because that would be too suspicious," Mr. Right said. "But you've seen too much already. What do you think we should do, Mr. Lowes?"

Mr. Lowes looked thoughtful as he pocketed the cash. Suddenly, a creepy smile crossed his face. "Let's get back to the van."

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><p>This time both men accompanied me down the long flight of stairs and threw me rudely in the back of their van. I couldn't breathe with the panic rising inside. What exactly where they going to do to me?<p>

Mr. Lowes sat down in the front seat and revved the engine. I didn't see Mr. Right up there, but suddenly the back opened up, and the man himself hopped in, a roll of duct tape in his hands.

"Where are we going, Walter?" Mr. Right asked curiously as he ripped off a large piece.

"Oh, you'll like it, Nic. I'm sure you will."

Mr. Right taped the piece around my eyes like a crude blindfold. Then he smacked my head again, and I fell into unconsciousness again, the last thing I heard being the two men's evil laughs.

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><p><strong>Sorry if some of the characters were a little OOC.<strong>

**And hmm, I wonder where those guys are going to take Tori, don't you? }:) Mwahahahaha.**

**Until next time, review!**


	17. Day 11: More Clues

**So I spent a day at my grandma's (and she doesn't have Internet) writing this thing out. I hope you like it. **

**Some interesting Bade-based innuendos, if I do say so myself. :D**

**Includes a teeny bit of Tandre, Cabbie, and Cade (and of course the Bade).**

**READ THE BOTTOM A/N PLEASE. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.**

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><p>CHAPTER 17 -DAY 11 continued-<br>André's POV

Sikowitz returned, shaking his head. I had my phone out in an instant, dialing Mr. Vega's number. My hands were shaking wildly and Beck was watching me as Sikowitz hurried over.

_Come on, Mr. Vega. Pick up, pick up, pick up_, I thought.

"Hello?" the tired voice asked.

"Mr. Vega!" I exclaimed, standing up. Beck raised his eyebrows at me. "I'm so glad to hear your voice, sir!"

"Hold on, is this André?"

"Yes it is, sir," I replied, unable to mixed emotions. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm so sorry to tell you this, Mr. Vega, but we think that your daughter has been kidnapped."

Mr. Vega went silent for a few moments, and I almost repeated myself but he interrupted, sounding very irked.

"What? She has been what?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vega," I apologized. "We're trying to find her right now. Just an hour ago, all of us ate out at a restaurant with some of the crewmembers and staff that work for Vegas 777, and Tori went to the bathroom. But she never came back. We sent the girls out to find her, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Then we—Beck, Sikowitz and me—came back to the hotel to look around, but she wasn't here either. We even asked the hotel staff if they might've seen her, and no one has. We have no idea where she is."

"Did you try calling her?" Mr. Vega sounded a little more professional.

"Yessir. We did, and she's not responding."

"Well, this is terrible news. Spread the word about this as much as you can. Good God, this trip is turning out to be a lot more trouble than anyone ever thought, huh? First Trina sneaks over, you kids get ambushed, and now Tori seems to have been kidnapped.

"You know what else, I'll come over to. If she really has been abducted, then we're going to need all the help we can get. Hold on, let me talk to my wife really quick. And just stay calm, André; everything's going to be okay." He hung up.

I stared at Sikowitz and Beck, a huge hole burning in my heart.

"What did he say?" Beck asked.

"He said that we should start spreading the word about Tori gong missing," I replied. "If she really wasn't kidnapped…well, that's okay, because it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Did he say anything else?" Sikowitz inquired.

"Oh, he also said that he wants to come down here and help search for her daughter, if she's really missing."

"This is absolutely crazy, isn't it?" Sikowitz shook his head sadly. "Just a simple trip…now it's more complicated than my grandma's orders at a fast food restaurant!"

I had no idea how to respond to that when my phone started ringing again. I answered it immediately and brought it up to my ear.

"Okay, André, so I talked it over with my wife, and she wants you guys to search for Tori for one more hour, and one more hour only. If you still can't find her or anything, call me back and I'll fly over as soon as possible. I don't want to wait too long, but I also don't want to buy a ticket only to find out that she got locked in a bathroom or something."

"Will do, Mr. Vega," I responded, almost chuckling.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know, and call me back if anything happens, all right? We'll get this solved eventually." He could probably hear the nervousness in my voice.

"Bye, sir," I said.

"Bye, André."

I put my phone back in my pocket. Beck and Sikowitz both stood up.

"So what's the plan now?" Beck asked.

"We search everywhere within the next hour, and if we can't figure anything else, I'll call Mr. Vega back and he'll come over to help us, since you know, he's a police officer and stuff," I answered.

Just at that moment, Cat, Robbie and Jade marched in through the hotel doors. Beck hurried over to Jade and put his arms around her, she was frowning considerably, while Cat and Robbie seemed to be holding hands, heads bowed towards each other.

"Did you find her?" Cat asked as she approached us. Robbie didn't leave her side, grinning wide.

"No. But I just called her dad, and I've got a plan," I responded. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jade rolling her eyes in disgust. I ignored her and looked at everyone else.

I pulled my mouth into a forced smile and said, "So who wants to have some 'fun?'"

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><p>We spent the next hour looking for Tori in the entire hotel. Well, <em>I<em> did anyway.

Jade gave up after ten minutes and fell asleep on one of the couches in the lobby, and it took Beck another fifteen minutes to wake her and get her off her lazy butt. Cat and Robbie just seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with each other on the fourth floor, and Sikowitz spent the entire time searching the candy booths near the poolroom.

I'm pretty sure I was the only one who was serious about finding her, and that made me feel sad deep down. I mean, Tori wasn't that bad to hang around, right?

After I had called Mr. Vega, I trudged up into my room, trying not to let the salty tears fall from my eyes. Robbie and Sikowitz left me alone (especially seeing that Robbie didn't let Cat out of his sight) but I didn't mind at all. I needed it.

Mr. Vega called again and said that he was having trouble getting a plane ticket on such a short notice, despite the fact that he was a police officer and had connections. He said the earliest he could get over would probably be tomorrow morning, maybe after our broadcast.

Wait…our broadcast!

I was on pretty good terms with Mr. Highes, I think, and I'm sure he would let us report the missing person of Tori Vega!

It was perfect plan. Not to mention that it would safe us a lot of time

After that, I stopped moping and forced myself to go to bed, and hoped that in the morning, Mr. Highes would be willing to help us out.

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><p>ANCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>Cat's POV<p>

Robbie was giggling as he held my hand and walked me to my room. He wanted to hold off going to his room since André had looked pretty steamed earlier and Robbie didn't want to bother him. He was so considerate sometimes.

"That was fun, Robbie," I smiled as I inserted the key into door slot and pushed it open. "You're so funny."

"Maybe again tomorrow?" he said, his fingers wrapping around mine even when I tried to pull away. I nodded, trying to cover up my smile and he brought me towards hi chest, and I sighed. His breath was hot on my head.

"Iloveyou," he whispered.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing," he muttered, holding me at arm's length. His cheeks were scarlet, and his eyes shone brightly. "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight, okay?" He gave me a shy wave and walked back down the hall.

I watched him leave before entering my room, closing the door behind me.

As soon as I turned on the lights, the first thing I noticed was that the carpet had dirty streaks, and some new tears. I took a few more hesitant steps forward, looking into the bathroom.

The counters were wet, the tap still dripping. I hurried over and turned it off. The Jacuzzi cover was ripped, the sounds of jets spurting bubbling hot water echoing louder than normal.

I went back out into the big room, looking at our beds. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and our luggages torn open and objects piled around them.

I almost screamed when I saw Mr. Teddy sitting on my pillow, his head gone, revealing the ragged stitches and stuffing falling out. I fell backwards, crawling away from my toy like it was going to come to life and attack me. I covered my face, waiting for the attack.

Nothing happened.

I peaked through my fingers. Mr. Teddy hadn't moved. I scrambled up, grabbing the wall for support, before fleeing out of my room and down the hall. I wasn't heading towards Robbie and André's though; I didn't want to bother them.

I came to Beck and Jade's door, pounding with all my might.

No one was answering, so I hit it harder, until I thought I was going to bruise my hands.

Finally, finally Beck answered, and I almost wished he hadn't. He didn't seem to be wearing any clothes, except for a white Royale towel wrapped around his waist. He was very red in the face, and looked annoyed.

"What do you—oh hi Cat," he stepped aside to let me in. I spotted Jade sitting on one of the beds, her fingers fumbling to button up her shirt. Her face was pale compared to Beck's, who followed me over to her.

"What do you want, Cat?" Jade asked, shaking her head and letting hair fall in front of her eyes.

"Someone trashed my room and killed Mr. Teddy."

"Tori wasn't there though, was she?" Beck asked anxiously. His expression was unreadable, but I could tell that he was thinking about something that I wasn't seeing.

I shook my head.

"Crap, okay, let's go to your room then. I have a really bad feeling about this." Suddenly, he looked down at his body and realized that he wasn't really wearing anything. "Um…Jade can go with you. I was actually uh, just going to take a shower, you know, but I guess it can wait…"

"Yeah, take a shower in my c—" Jade tried to say.

Beck interrupted hastily with, "Yes, babe. Just go, okay? And be careful, please." He leaned and kissed her on the cheek. I wished Robbie would do that to me. Hold on…what? Boy, was I thinking funny today.

"Fine. You'd better not be joking about your room being messed up," Jade grumbled, grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the hall.

"I'm not Jadey!" I protested. "Someone hurt Mr. Teddy!" We came to my room and I opened up the door quickly. Jade let go of my hand and made me stand in the doorway while she went ahead.

"Well, obviously someone came in _after _Sikowitz did and was looking for something," Jade sniffed, kneeling on the ground and picking up one of my shirts, now in shreds. She looked up and jumped, seeing Mr. Teddy on my pillow. "Holy shi—"

I hurried towards her, holding on to her arm as we looked at my bear together.

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool," she said, shrugging me off and walking towards Mr. Teddy. She picked up his body, and I closed my eyes. "Oh, come on, Cat. You can look. It's okay."

I opened my eyes slowly. She was tucking Mr. Teddy beneath the blankets, sort of like you would bury someone.

"Did anything else get stolen?" she asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I didn't get to check," I replied. I approached her and the hidden bear slowly and quickly looked through my luggage. All of my jewelry seemed to be missing, even the new ones I had just bought and the green bracelet Jade had given me for my sixteenth birthday that I always kept with me.

But then I checked my secret compartment that held all of my money.

It was completely gone.

"Oh no!" I screamed, pawing through the entire bag desperately. The money was not in there, and I knew that I hadn't put it anywhere else…or did I? "My money's gone," I said to Jade, almost sobbing.

"How much was it?"

"Three hundred dollars," I sniffed.

Jade leaped up as there was a knock on the door. Our heads turned towards it in sync.

"Who is it?"

"Beck and Sikowitz!"

"Oh geez," Jade groaned, running over to let them in.

"I wanted to see how Cat is, seeing that Beck told me…" Sikowitz shut up when he noticed the huge mess. I rubbed my eyes and Jade went to stand back next to me, pressing her body against mine in a comforting hug. "Good Ghandi, what is this mess? It certainly wasn't here when I visited earlier…" His eyes got wide, and he snapped his fingers.

"So Tori—or at least her captors—must've been here, and they were looking for something. Cat's what's missing?" He pointed at me.

"Some of my jewelry, and all of my money," I sniffled into Jade's shoulder.

Sikowitz narrowed his eyes. "Precious and expensive object stolen…oi. We need to report this to the police. Now." He started heading towards the door before looking back at us. "Well, aren't you guys coming?"

Beck shook his head like he was trying to clear his mind and ran after Sikowitz.

"Come on, Cat," Jade said, her voice gentle for once. "We'll get you a new Mr. Teddy later if you want."

"Okay," I choked, not letting go of her as we left the trashed room.

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

Cat was hugging onto my waist like her life depended on it. I didn't mind, at least not too much. Sikowitz had gone to write a note for Robbie and André, telling them that we were going down to the nearest police station with Beck, Cat, him and me. He didn't want to wake them up, especially André, who seemed to be taking it really hard that Tori was missing.

Sikowitz came out of the room quietly, gesturing us to start towards the elevators.

"Okay," he said, "Jade, do you mind going down to the front desk and telling them what's happened to the room? You can bring Cat if she uh, doesn't let go of you."

_Well, at least I don't have to go to the police station_, I thought.

"Fine," I said, although not too happy about my position.

"All right, Beck and I will go down to the station. We'll file the report for Tori's kidnapping as well as our room having been broken into. Does that sound good, you guys?"

"Absolutely," Beck responded.

Cat just nodded.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.

"All right, team." Sikowitz put his hand out. Beck smiled and put his own on Sikowitz's. I sighed when I realized what they were doing, and reluctantly put Cat's and mine on theirs. "Go!"

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

I could tell Jade wasn't exactly thrilled to be left with Cat at the hotel, but I trusted that she would get the job done. She might show that she didn't want to do anything or have anything to do with Tori, but deep, deep, _deep _down she did care about her, even just a little bit.

It was really late already, and we should've been in bed getting ready for tomorrow's broadcast, but instead we were here inside a taxicab driving towards the police station. Sikowitz was extremely quiet through the entire ride.

When we arrived, at first I though the place was closed because there were no lights coming from the building. Sikowitz bravely (or stupidly) walked up the concrete steps and pounded on the bulletproof door hard.

I waited close to the street, arms crossed against my chest, my breath vaporizing in puffs in front of my face.

The door suddenly opened up, revealing a big man swinging a nightstick.

"Yes?" he asked, looking down at Sikowitz. "I'm sorry sir, but if you're looking for a homeless shelter, well, it's a little farther down the road."

I laughed. Of course Sikowitz would be mistaken for some hobo. Just like Tori had on her first day at Hollywood Arts.

"No, I need to file a report for a missing girl," Sikowitz said, not even smiling for once. I ran up to stand next to him.

"Come right in, then." The man opened up the door wider for us to go through.

We ended up in an arched hallway, dimly lit with blue lights on the ceiling. The man, whose name was Mack, led us down it, his feet stomping loudly. Sikowitz walked next to him, and I was in the back, extremely cautious.

Finally we came to a big room, with only one desk mounted on a podium at the far end and three chairs in front of it. Mack hurried to slip behind it, propping himself up and looking down at us. He was now a full four feet above my head.

"What can I do for you gentleman, then?" he asked, picking up a pen and pulling off the cap with his teeth.

"Well, me and several other teenagers were here on the Vegas 777 program, and we just went to a dinner a few hours ago.

"One of my students went to the bathroom and did not come back. After about twenty minutes, we sent two girls to go and look for her, and she was nowhere to be found.

"Me and the boys came back to the hotel to check her room, which she was not in. But apparently, after I was gone, someone came in and trashed it completely, stealing three hundred dollars and tons of jewelry."

Mack scratched his chin. "The name of the girl, please."

"Tori Vega. We live in Los Angeles, California. I'm a teacher and the teenagers are students at Hollywood Arts High School."

"Very good. I need your name too, sir."

"Erwin Sikowitz."

"Sikowitz? What an interesting last name." Mack was scribbling furiously at his pad of paper.

"Yes, well, it was my great grandmother's," Sikowitz replied matter-of-factly.

"All right then boys." Mack climbed down from the high desk to stand next to us. I didn't realize how tall he was already, towering at least six-two, and he was swinging his bat in his large hands again. "Come with me. I need some more details so we can begin our search for this girl."

I sighed, following both men.

I certainly wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

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><p><strong>Okay, so that was actually pretty enjoyable to write. And as you can probably tell, we are beginning to reach the end of this story. :'( But don't worry, I'll keep always keep writing. :D<strong>

**ANYWAY so I have a poll up on my profile asking which pairing I should write next: Jori or Cade? GO VOTE. Seriously. The poll will close when I have successfully uploaded all of the chapters to this story (which is about twenty).**

**Oh and don't forget to review! :)**


	18. Day 12: Keep Looking

**So, like I said at the bottom of the previous chapter, I've got a poll that you guys should vote for regarding my next story! It's seriously very important! :D**

**Okay, and here is Chapter 18! ENJOY!**

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><p>CHAPTER 18 -DAY 12-<p>

André's POV

No one had told me yesterday that Tori's room had also been ransacked and Beck and Sikowitz visited the police station and filed a report for the missing girl. I was a little bit peeved that I had not been kept up-to-date with the events, but happy that my friends were finally doing something to assist in her rescue. But we'd still need to publicize her kidnapping, so hopefully the broadcast would be able to help us out with that.

We waited downstairs in the lobby for Beck, Jade, and Cat to come down. Apparently, Lil' Red had decided to stay in her friend's room since she was afraid to sleep by herself, and the fact that her room was being checked out by officials. Seeing the shadowed look on Jade's face, I could tell she wasn't exactly thrilled with the new arrangement.

"Cat! Cat, are you okay?" Robbie asked the girl when she appeared. Cat ran up to him, jumping into his arms and hugging his neck. I backed up away from them, smiling slightly.

"Mr. Teddy died last night," she replied, pulling her head back to face him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear, lacing his fingers in hers.

"Let's go to the studio," Sikowitz said, ignoring the odd behavior of his students. I was hoping he would say more about what had happened last night with him and Beck, but no such luck.

We boarded our taxis and headed towards the studio.

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><p>Mr. Highes didn't seem to be extremely excited to see us again, a dramatic change from yesterday's hyper mood. Sikowitz had gone to talk to him about letting the public know about what happened to Tori, since I was an anchor for the day and had to go get ready.<p>

Since we were missing her, we decided to only have one field reporter. Beck was freaking out slightly with the pressure of having to visit three different locations throughout the hour of the broadcast and interview numerous people, but Jade went to talk to him behind closed doors and after that he mysteriously calmed down.

I sat down on the main stage with five minutes until airing time. Cat was bouncing excitedly in her seat next to me. Her hair was a flaming halo of magenta, her eyes shining with perkiness, and she looked surprisingly pretty in the bright studio lights, and for a moment I could see exactly why Robbie liked her so much.

I smoothed my yellow tie against my collared shirt, hoping that I didn't sweat too much because I was wearing light colors and it would obviously show if I did.

Mr. Highes, rolling his head back and forth and shaking his shoulders like a boxer before a match, came into the room, going over to the head cameraman and talking to him for a few brief moments. The cameraman's head was bobbing up and down, and he adjusted the camera to face Cat and me.

He snapped his fingers to get our attention and said, "We are on in five, four, three, two…"

I put on my best smile as Cat started the broadcast.

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><p>It had been about twenty minutes into the broadcast, and I was getting jittery about when Tori was going to be announced. Cat was actually being exceptionally professional for once, her smile never faltering across her face. I wished I could stop faking mine.<p>

Beck was doing very well with his one-man show as a field reporter. He had finished up his first location, and was now probably in the van heading off to the second place. Robbie was on better terms with Mr. Highes and giving an amusing but accurate report of the weather. Jade was in charge of sports, and even though she smiled throughout the entire time, I could still tell it was a forced one.

Finally, the little green letters we were reading the lines from stated that I would be talking about Tori Vega next. I cleared my throat and read the words loud and clear, trying not to show too much emotion.

"A sixteen-year old girl named Tori Vega who you might've seen as a host on this news station was kidnapped from Golden Dragon restaurant yesterday night. She was last seen on her way to the bathroom at approximately, uhm, 8:27 p.m. If anyone sees this girl, please report it to the LV: Daily Reports hot line or the local Vegas police station. Thank you for your cooperation with this."

Cat was staring at me the entire time, and there was a pause when I stopped, as she was supposed to read the next line but didn't.

I swallowed as quietly as possible, blinking fast and not trying to make anything obvious. Cat grabbed my hand underneath the table, just as I looked away from all the cameras.

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><p>Tori's POV<p>

I was starting to wake up again, this time my whole body was aching horribly. I rolled onto my back, still unable to see anything but black, and I listened closely to the sounds and felt the myself jarring every once in a while. _Wait…where was I again_?

And then I remembered.

Two men named Mr. Right and Mr. Lowes were holding me hostage. They kidnapped me from the Chinese restaurant, taking me to The Royale and raiding Cat and my room. After that they threw me into their van, promising to take me somewhere that would keep me away from civilization so I wouldn't be able to report the events I'd just experienced. .

The air in the van was hot, and I could barely breathe around the tape as it was. However, the windows sounded to be wide open. I made a muffled sound to attract the men's attention.

"Oh, why hello, there darling. Or good morning is what I should be saying," I heard Mr. Right greeting. "I'm sure it's safe to take off your blindfold. Allow me, sweetie." I felt someone grab the sides of my face and the tape covering my eyes was ripped off.

"Mmooowww…" I mumbled, tears escaping. I think he pulled off some eyelashes and possibly eyebrows with that one. Now my face was going to look uneven.

"Sorry." He didn't sound very apologetic though.

I blinked, trying to get used to the new lights. I was right—the windows were wide open, but the van seemed to have its heater on or something. I tried to stand up; my legs were cramping, but I had forgetten they were tied together with tape and I fell over weakly. Mr. Right laughed, still watching me from the front seat.

"Oh no, not yet, Jade. No need to get too antsy, okay? We're almost at your destination anyway."

I sighed. They were still calling my Jade, and my throat was dry and itchy. I wondered how long we had been driving. Probably a little while, since the last time I checked it was dark outside, but now sunlight streamed through the dusty windows.

"Mmf murrfffttyy," I whined.

"She's thirsty, Walter," Mr. Right said to his partner.

"I'm driving," the bigger man replied.

Mr. Right sighed and disappeared from my view, returning with a half-full plastic water bottle. He took the tape off my mouth roughly and unscrewed the top, simply pouring the remaining liquid all over my face. My hair was drenched and so was practically the rest of my head. Oh well, it was better than nothing.

He forgot to put more tape over my mouth and I asked, "Where are we going?"

"Are we far enough?" Mr. Right asked Mr. Lowes, pointedly ignoring me. Mr. Lowes nodded, and the van came to a sudden halt. Both men left the front and came through the back, opening the doors wide.

_Oh my god…we're in a desert_.

Mr. Lowes reached in and pulled me out, throwing me onto the soft sand. I struggled to sit up with my wrists and ankles bound, but it was too hard. Mr. Right came up to me slowly, and I looked at his evil face.

Without warning, he kicked me in the ribs and I yelped, falling backwards. He kicked me again and I reeled away from the black, boiling asphalt road. Sand got into my eyes and I was blinded.

"I think you'll do well here," he said, taping another piece over my face so I could no longer see.

_Curse you_! I thought, thrashing desperately.

"Maybe you'll find your way out, maybe not!" Mr. Right called.

Unable to see, I received one hard push and was sent rolling down some sort of sandy slope I had missed to look at earlier. The powdery substance filled my mouth, choking me. There was a roar in my ears as I continued to fall, wherever I was going.

Finally I stopped, face-first in the dirt. Every part of my body burned, and I coughed loudly. I twisted my wrists inside the tape, trying to free them. I started panting and panicking; it was really hot out here.

After a while and much struggle, I managed to get one of my wrists, now cut and bloody, I guess, free. I yanked the tape off of the other and removed my 'blindfold' slowly.

At first I wiped my eyes desperately, hoping that what I was seeing was not real. But then I gradually came to grasp that it _was _real.

I was stuck in a lonely, barren desert. I could see heat waves in the distance, and my head started to burn. I quickly undid the tape across my ankles, feeling the blood rush down to my feet. I was already starting to sweat like crazy.

And I realized I had no idea of which was the 'right' way to go. I obviously had been pushed down a sand hill, but now I didn't know which one, since they surrounded me. They were monstrous-sized, and when I had fallen, it didn't seem so long, but after checking over my bruises and cuts, maybe it was.

I approached one, digging in my hands and feet to boost myself up, but I fell back down almost immediately. I didn't have the proper knowledge or gear to climb this thing. But I didn't give up.

For a full twenty minutes, I walked to each close by sand hill and tried to climb it. One time I got up at least ten feet, but then I lost my grip and fell. And that was the highest point I reached in the allotted time.

I was sweating like a pig, which has never happened to me before. I decided that there would have to be another way up and out. I looked around. I guess I'd just have to walk on forward until maybe the hills got shallower.

But which way was forward?

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to listen to my instincts. They were telling me to head in the right direction. I put on my bravest face, not that anyone could see, and began my journey in the eastward way.

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

We had regrouped in the lobby of The Royale right after the broadcast. Mr. Vega had arrived around 7:30 apparently, but it was already 9:30 and he still wasn't here. Robbie had volunteered to take Cat to buy some candy, and André was sitting next to Sikowitz, his hands fiddling anxiously. I was trying to read a newspaper but Jade had snuggled up into my lap and kept blocking my view.

"What's wrong with you today, Beck?" she whispered in my ear.

"I'm just, uh, kind of worried about André," I answered lamely.

"And then Tori, too, huh?" she replied, suddenly hostile.

"What's wrong with that?" I was getting tired of her behavior towards Tori. It was starting to get really out of hand, and extremely inappropriate now, seeing that Tori could be in serious danger or even worse; dead. "You know, Tori could be in grave dan—" I tried to explain to her.

I stopped talking because Jade was looking the other way. Through the doors walked Mr. Vega, accompanied by several other police officers. Instead of wearing those dark blue hats with that little brim they had on white helmets with black visors.

The entire lobby went quiet.

"Good people, please continue with your duties. I just need to speak to several young kids about something," Mr. Vega announced, gesturing to us. None of us moved, and he came over. "Will you guys follow me outside please? And might I just say it's good to see the most of you in person for once." He smiled a little bit.

"Where are we going?" Cat asked, and I noticed that she was holding Robbie's hand again next to a pack of gummy bears. I really wondered what was going on with them.

"We're going to look for my daughter, of course," Mr. Vega replied, his tiny smile turning into a huge grin. He led us towards several blue police cars, the lights still flashing on top. "Hop in," he said, gesturing towards the doors. We looked at one another, no one saying a word.

Finally Cat tugged at Robbie's arm and led him towards one of the vehicles.

Everyone followed soon after.

We quickly arrived at a police station, to my humble surprise. Piling out of the cars, we found Mr. Vega standing near a huge, blacked-out gate, his hands crossed in front of his chest.

"All right, guys, this part of the mission in finding my daughter is very important. As you probably know, I do have certain connections with the force, even here in Vegas. And I've convinced them to let me borrow some of these in our search," Mr. Vega said, going over to a control box and pressing a button that opened the gates.

Now that we could fully see what was behind them, my jaw dropped at the sight and I felt Jade grab my arm.

"We get to fly in helicopters?"

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><p>Jade's POV<p>

Mr. Vega split us up into two groups to take the copters: Cat, Robbie, Sikowitz, and two other close officers, while Beck, André, himself and me took another. This was my first time on one of these things, and I was actually kind of looking forward to riding one, but of course I didn't let it show.

We were all given these stupid-looking plastic earmuffs because the roars of helicopter blades were usually enough to become extremely annoying after a while, and at first I refused to wear it, until we lifted off and then the noise drove me insane within the first two minutes. I just made sure that no one took any pictures.

Mr. Vega actually had a license to fly the darn thing, and was expertly rotating the joysticks and smashing buttons on the dashboard like a maniac, often muttering a jumbled string of words into his microphone connected to his helmet/earmuffs. The three of us were to keep a lookout in the back.

Eventually we began flying over an orange desert; sand pluming in dune shapes, cacti bravely putting up a fight as not to drown in the waves. I couldn't see anything more than that because we were too high up, but Mr. Vega lowered our altitude until we were literally touching the ground.

André paced the small cabin area restlessly, not even bothering to look out one of the many windows, even though it was obvious that he was the one most worried about Tori next to her family. Beck was sitting on a small seat, his forehead pressed against glass, breath fogging clouds on it. I wanted to be near him, but he looked deep in thought and I didn't want to bug him.

This went on for hours and hours. We saw nothing but a forsaken desert, and it was starting to get dark very quickly. I somehow ended up in Beck's lap, his hands tight around my waist even though he had fallen asleep. André was staring at the ground, his fingers locked together.

"Hey kids, we're going to be heading back soon. But we've made good progress," Mr. Vega called from the cockpit.

_We have made absolutely no progress_, I thought, squirming uncomfortably in Beck's lap. He snorted and relaxed, his steady breaths hot on the back of my head.

"So we're just going to give up, then?" André asked, looking up.

"Of course not. We just need to leave this desert because it's starting to get dark, and the last thing we want is to be stuck here, without fuel. We'll refuel back at the station, and maybe go around on foot. Don't worry, buddy, the other chopper is out there somewhere, still looking. Their fuel tank is bigger than ours, and they're searching closer to the city, where it's still bright."

The helicopter leaned sharply to one side as we turned. I got off of Beck and glared out the window. The darkness was descending quickly, wind picking up and sending waves of sand swirling into mini sandstorms.

And suddenly something below moved like it didn't quite match the current. The object got larger, but quickly disappeared under another wave. I was very interested, and asked Mr. Vega to slow down and get closer to ground level. André came over and started looking with me, I could tell he had picked up what I was looking at.

The object got big again, like an animal trying to stand up on its hind legs. But what animal that had at least two legs lived in a desert? Maybe it was just a cactus appearing and disappearing by each wave of sand that passed by.

But then two arms popped out of the sides of the figure, waving frantically back and forth. No cactus could do that, I'm pretty sure. I recognized the way the thing stumbled forward, being buried once again. André made no noise, so I was the one to speak first.

"Tori?"

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><p><strong>Aww shoot! Did they really find Tori or are they just seeing things?<strong>

**You've probably noticed that we are now on day twelve, and they've only get to stay fourteen in Vegas...so do the math and figure out about how many chapters are left! :)**

**Review!**


	19. Day 13: Reports and Raffles

**Come on, people, keep voting on that poll! I don't want it to end up with a tie, because that was not the point of it being created in the first place! }:(**

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><p>CHAPTER 19 -DAY 13-<br>Tori's POV

I was now resting peacefully in a Vegas hospital, thanks to Jade.

Yep, Jade West, the girl that supposedly hates my guts, was the first person in the helicopter to find me, and because of that, she actually saved my life. I always knew that the 'tough chic' attitude was just an act.

My dad was going to stay for the next few days, seeing that we only had two more in Vegas. As terrifying as some of these past experiences have been, I actually thought that they all helped us come closer as friends.

It was about four in the morning here in the hospital, but the doctor had said I should be well enough to do the broadcast, if too much work wasn't involved. I had been severely dehydrated, but there's nothing a few IVs can't fix.

André had not left my side after they brought me in, not once. The others were either hanging outside the room or at the hotel, I assumed. The air was clean in the hospital, and I could hear the quiet dripping of liquids heading down the tubes into my body.

I lay back and tried to relax as best as I could, trying to think of the future, and not the past.

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><p><em>I saw the helicopter, blades whirring and sand flying everywhere. I tried to stand up, but the winds were too strong and I fell over again. I was horribly thirsty and I might've passed out a couple times, but I could barely remember anymore. All I knew was that something was up in the sky, and I think they were looking for me.<em>

_ I stood up again, waving my arms before being pushed down. _

_ The copter got louder and louder, and through the haze I saw André's face in one of the windows. He was pounding on the glass, and Beck appeared in the corner, grabbing André and pulling him away in case he broke it. _

_And then I saw Jade, looking extremely panicked for some reason. The helicopter stirred in the wind, and I went face-first into the sand. I no longer had the energy to get back up and remained there, grains slipping into my eyes and mouth, blinding me and keeping me from calling out._

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><p><em> I wasn't sure exactly what happened in the next few minutes. I could see, hear, and touch things, but my brain wasn't registering any of it. <em>

_ I looked up and saw Jade clinging to a rope ladder that was descending slowly out of a trapdoor in the helicopter's bottom. She was looking up, screaming loudly at the boys inside. _

"_I don't have a license for this, Mr. Vega! Isn't this illegal?"_

_ Mr. Vega…the name sounded familiar. Hmm, I wonder why. _

_ "Just suck it up and go get her, Jade!" That was Beck's voice. _

_ I slowly lifted my head, unable to see clearly with the sand digging into my eyes. But I could just barely make out the form of a girl wearing black (why she would be wearing black in the desert I had no idea) and she had touched off at the ground thirty feet away._

_ "Hey, Vega!" Jade yelled as she ran towards me. "Are you okay?"_

_ I tried to respond but my lips were so dry I could only make funny grating noises. I lifted up one of my arms and tried to wave back, but I was too weak. _

_ Suddenly I felt something grab my shoulder and roll my body over. I found myself staring up at dark sky, and then the figure leaned over, blocking most the blinking stars._

_ "Wow, Tori, you look like a mess." I'm not sure if she was being sarcastic or not. _

_ I made another garbled noise. Jade looked away into the distance and shouted almost in my ear, "Over here! You guys better hurry up your butts!"_

_ And then I heard André's voice, and my heart started beating, at least letting me know that I was still alive and not just dreaming. Beck was right behind him, looking extremely concerned for some reason. And then the man who looked just like my father hurried up._

So that's why Mr. Vega sounded familiar…boy, was I out of it today_._

_ "Tori, baby, how are you feeling?" he asked, trying to prop my head up in his lap. "Beck, can you go into the cockpit and grab the walkie-talkie and tell the others that we found her?" he commanded, remaining calm. Beck got up and ran, leaving André__ and Jade to stand there and stare down at my body. _

_ "Do you need anything?" André__ asked, digging through a red medical bag he was holding._

Water_, I wanted to say, but "Ggrrgghh" came out. _

_ I heard Jade snort, and André turned on her, the smile disappearing almost instantly. _

_ "Okay, we'll take you to the hospital and you'll be fine, all right, Tor? How long have you been out here? Less than twenty-four hours, I'd guess," my dad said, picking me up, an arm underneath my shoulders and knees. He never gave me a chance to answer any of his questions. "Let's go, you guys."_

_ And that was the last thing I remembered before passing out again._

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><p>André was sitting in the corner of the room, his head bowed against his chest, snoring softly. I was feeling so much better than yesterday, and the dull noises of whirring machines calmed me. Not to mention the fact that I now had a proper amount of water in my body.<p>

"Hey, look, Tori's awake!"

I looked up and saw Cat and Robbie smiling at me from the little window in the door. I smiled back and motioned for them to come in. Cat opened the door quietly and stepped in; she was holding a big teddy bear, and Robbie was holding one too. After they both entered, Beck appeared, a small smile on his face while he was towed Jade along.

"How are you feeling?" Beck asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"We brought you a teddy bear," Robbie interrupted, holding his bear towards me. I grinned awkwardly and accepted it. He nodded, stepping back closer to Cat, who leaned her head on his arm and held her own bear close to her body.

And then my father came in, looking quite tired but pleased. My friends immediately sat down on chairs nearby.

André woke up at the commotion, looking alarmed, but relaxed when he saw that I was awake and his friends surrounded him.

"It's good to see you awake, baby," my father said, kneeling down by my bed. He was holding a wooden clipboard and pen in his hands. "You are feeling better, right? Because I need to ask you some very important questions."

"Okay," I responded, quickly glancing at my friends. Jade was attempting to snuggle up with Beck, but he looked distracted. Robbie and Cat were holding hands, and André was the only one who seemed to be paying attention to what I was doing.

"Do you want to tell us what exactly happened to you when you went to the bathroom at the restaurant?" André perked up upon hearing my dad ask this, and I beamed in his direction.

I took a deep breath and began my account of the kidnapping.

"When I was trying to leave the bathroom, two men appeared out of nowhere and stopped me. They took me into the guy's room and tied me up with duct tape. They also took my purse and threw me out one of the windows. After that, one of the men, I think his name was Nicolas Right, went through my stuff while the other guy held a gun to my face.

"Nicolas—or Mr. Right, as his partner kept calling him, finally found my Royale hotel card, and that's how he kind of figured out that I was part of the Vegas 777 program. That and he'd actually seen me on the show, except he kept calling me 'Jade Vega.'" I looked over at Jade, who scrunched up her face like that was the worst thing in the world. I continued.

"After that they brought me to their black van and we drove over to the hotel. We parked in a back alley, and there was a hidden staircase that we were going to take. Earlier I had told Mr. Right what the room number was, because I was afraid he was going to shoot me." I wiped my eyes, not realizing how emotional this actually was. At least I hadn't been shot in the end. My dad's pen kept going at the paper.

"They wanted me to climb up all the way to the thirtieth floor, but I got too tired and then the other guy, Walter Lowes, or, I guess we called him Mr. Lowes, had to carry—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Did you say Mr. Lowes?" Beck interrupted all of a sudden.

I nodded.

Beck glanced at Cat, worry filling his eyes for once. My dad looked at them both, obviously seeing that something was going on.

"What is it, Beck?" my dad asked him, but I could tell from the tone of his voice that he already had it figured out.

"It's just that, when the studio was ambushed several days ago," Beck said, his fingers twitching in his hands, "the man who was chasing me and Cat…his name was Mr. Lowes, and the woman with him also called him Walter."

My dad said nothing, his face blank.

"Was he pretty big?" I asked. "And, uh, kind of stupid?"

"Big, yes. And yeah, I guess you could say he was a little bit stupid," Beck answered, smiling at the thought.

"All right, Tori, just keep going," my dad instructed without saying anything about what we were discussing. "We can piece things together at the end."

"Okay," I nodded. "So after we reached the thirtieth floor, Mr. Lowes, who had gone ahead of Mr. Right and me, let us into the room using my key. He said something about seeing a bald man just exiting the room. I think he might've been talking about Sikowitz."

"Probably," André nodded, joining in on the conversation. "'Cause Sikowitz went up to look for you, and you weren't there. But after we spent a while wandering around the hotel, Cat went up to your room and found it trashed."

"Yep," I replied. Everything was making sense now, like puzzle pieces fitting together. "Then the men went through all of my and Cat's stuff, and—"

"They killed Mr. Teddy," Cat sniffled suddenly.

"What?" I paused.

"My teddy bear I've had for as long as I can remember. When I came into the room, I found him with his head ripped off. But Jade and Robbie got me a new one, so it's okay." She rubbed her cheek against the bear's and I snuck a look at Jade and Robbie. Robbie was beaming, and Jade actually perked up a bit.

"As I was saying," I tried to continue along with the flow of the story, "when they went through Cat's stuff, they found three hundred dollars worth of cash, and—

"They took it, didn't they?" Cat interrupted again. I tried not to sigh.

"Well, yes, the men took it and I'm not sure what they did with it. But after that we went back down the stairs and to the van. They told me that they weren't going to kill me, because then that would be too obvious, but they were going to bring me somewhere that I wouldn't be able to tell anyone anyway.

"So we drove for a very long time, but I didn't know where we were going because they had knocked me out previously. But once I woke up, they took me out of the van, and I realized we were in a desert.

"Mr. Right kicked me away from the road they were driving on and I fell down a slope, and after I had gotten all of my tape restraints off, I realized I couldn't climb back up. So I had to just walk around to maybe find my way back, which I obviously didn't."

"You went in the complete wrong direction," Jade pointed out.

"Yes, I noticed," I retorted. Jade gave me that annoying smile that drove me nuts and I rolled my eyes. "So yeah. That's exactly what happened."

"Okay, thank you for that, Tor," my dad said, finishing up a last sentence on the clipboard. "I'll need to go and file this report right away." He stood up, making his way towards the door. "Well, you guys have a broadcast to do in about three and a half hours, so make the best of it." My dad winked before leaving the room.

Everyone stared at me as the door shut. Jade looked like she was falling asleep in Beck's arms, whose chin was resting on top of her head. Robbie was watching Cat cuddle with her bear intently, and André had leaned over and was holding my taped up hand in his own.

And that was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep.

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><p>Beck's POV<p>

We arrived at the studio about forty-five minutes ago, and I was very glad to see that Tori was doing a lot better. It was the first time in a while that the entire gang was here to do the broadcast, and Mr. Highes wanted to take as much advantage of it as possible.

My girl and me were going to be the anchors, Robbie and André were the field reporters, Cat was doing sports, and Tori was the weather woman. I was even more excited than usual, and I'm pretty sure Jade was too.

We were both sitting on the main stage, all dressed up and snazzy-looking when Mr. Highes, oddly calm, approached us. There was a slight bounce in his step, and his black tie was swinging back and forth.

"Okay, kiddies," he said, his voice full of new authority as he thudded his hands on the desk in front of us, "I understand that you two are…_together_…and I am perfectly fine with that, it's just that I don't want to see too much PDA on the broadcast, understood?"

Public displays of affection? I almost laughed at the way he was acting. But I could tell that he was serious, so I nodded, and Jade did too.

"All right, excellent. That is all I wanted to talk to you about." He bounded away, looking suddenly immensely pleased like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He approached Tori, who was leaning on the green screen behind her for support, but a small grin was spread across her lips, so I knew she was doing okay.

Jade tried to climb off of her chair into my lap, but just as she had reached me, Mr. Highes had turned around and was staring right at us. I grinned sheepishly, but made no move to get my girlfriend off of my lap. Jade waved flirtatiously at him, and he frowned. Finally, she got off and sat down in her own chair, smoothing out her skirt, and he smiled again, giving us a thumbs-up.

"Hey, anchors! You've got sixty seconds until show time!" the main cameraman yelled at us. I nodded, running a hand through my hair and turning to Jade.

"Do I look okay?" I asked.

"As handsome as always," she replied without hesitation, although she still reached over and adjusted the tie underneath my collar. I pecked her on the cheek, and saw Mr. Highes rolling his eyes in the corner of the room.

"And we're on in five, four…"

I placed my hands in a professional posture on top of the wooden oak desk. Jade did the same.

"Three, two…"

Jade took a deep breath, putting on that smile that I loved to see so much. I smiled along with her as a natural reaction, and she turned to face the blinking camera.

"Hello and welcome to LV: Daily Reports…"

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><p>Mr. Lowes's POV<p>

"You know, I...I feel kind of bad for leaving the girl out there," I said to my partner, Nicolas Right. We were driving through the roads of Las Vegas, in search of a casino to spend the stolen money at. "What happens if she never got out and dies or something? We'll have a murder on our hands!" I shuddered at the thought. It had barely been a day since we left Jade Vega in the desert, and I was feeling guilty ever since.

"Relax, Walter," Nic repeated for the thousandth time, "If she gets out, she can report us to the police if she wants, but remember, we used our _fake _names, so it's not like we can be tracked down anyway."

"Right, right," I answered, remembering. "How about our fingerprints, though, Nic? We touched her and the stuff in that hotel room."

"Walter, remember your initiation process?" Nic asked.

"No, not really," I replied truthfully.

Nic sighed. "Look at your hands, you doofus."

I did.

And saw nothing out of the ordinary. My hands were larger than normal, obviously, since I was bigger than the average man. They had regular creases that looked like a cool pattern of crossing, intersecting lines. But they I noticed my fingertips. Instead of the unique swirly designs you'd normally see, they were completely flat and smooth, like someone had taken an eraser and erased the lines.

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed. "They burned off our fingerprints a long time ago, so now we don't leave any marks to be traced!" I never really understood how helpful that was until now.

"Precisely. Now shut up and let me drive, we've got three hundred dollars to blow off, okay?"

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><p>We ended up arriving at my favorite casino, Chips and Dicks. I loved it because it had everything I could possibly want and more: great food and lots of gambling. Nic liked it for the girls, which I wasn't really into so much.<p>

Nic was holding Jade Vega's three hundred dollars in cash when we entered. He handed me a hundred, shoving it deep into my fingerprint-less hands.

"Go have some fun, partner. You don't need to mention this to the Boss when we get back, okay?"

"Sure thing, Nic."

"Go win us some money. And don't forget to use your _real _name, okay?" Nic started to walk away.

The dollars crumpled in my hand, and I bounded towards the first raffle booth I could find. The prize of the day was fifty grand. That was a lot of money.

I tossed the whole wad of cash towards the pretty lady taking the orders.

"Name please, sir."

"Walter Lowes," I replied, not even thinking of what Nic had said to me just minutes ago.

"Walter Lowes?" she asked, color fading in her face.

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay, here you go." She stood up straight and handed me my ticket. "The drawing will begin in about an hour or so, so you can just wait and do some other things in the meantime, Mr. Lowes." I winked and walked away, pocketing the ticket.

Since I had no more money and had no idea where Nic went, I sat down in the area where the drawing was going to take place. An hour passed, and the chair around me filled up with chattering people, hoping that the odds were in their favor.

A man with a very fancy gold tux came up to the front of the stage, followed by two ladies wheeling a cart holding a big goldfish bowl with hundreds of scraps of paper.

"Whosever number and name I call, please come up here and receive your prize!" the man instructed. He stuck his hand in the container, mixing around the tickets. The tension in the air cranked up a notch.

Finally he chose a piece and held it up to his eyes.

"45-67-0-82," he called out. "Mister…Walter Lowes!"

I looked at my paper, my eyes widening, not believing what I was hearing. The people around me groaned when they realized they had lost, but that only fueled me on to stand up and start gloating.

"I WON!" I screamed, jumping up and down. I raced towards the stage, running up the steps and standing by the well-dressed man. I looked down and scanned the audience, spotting Nic, his mouth hanging wide open. "I won," I mouthed at him gleefully.

Nic didn't move. I motioned for him to come up here with me, but he stared at me blankly. All of a sudden his face lit up, and he mouthed something I didn't catch and _ran_.

He ran towards the nearest exit, obviously trying to be discreet about it, but after he knocked aside several people, I'm pretty sure someone might've noticed.

I was confused, tuning out the man telling everyone what my prize was. Why did Nic run?

And in that exact same second, I realized why he had done what he did, and what he had mouthed at me was probably "Run!"

At that exact second, the Las Vegas police burst into the building.

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><p><strong>Oh wow...so there's only one more chapter left...amazing. I cannot believe I got this far. You guys have no idea how many times I considering stopping because writing at least 3,000 words per chapter was getting too much for me. But I did it in the end! Yay!<strong>

**Also, I do realize that a real-life raffle/drawing/lottery thing is absolutely nothing like that, but hey, I'm only fourteen, I've never been in any casinos or gambling clubs before, and I didn't want to make things complicated. I also know that the odds of winning are very slim, but this is a fiction story...so...**


	20. Day 14: It's Always Sunny in Vegas

**LAST CHAPTER, LAST CHAPTER, LAST CHAPTER! I can't believe I'm finally done!**

**By the way, last day to vote for poll! I'm gonna let you guys know that it's pretty close, but the one in the lead is the pairing with Jade, so if you don't agree, then vote for your fav! Hahaha. XD**

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><p>CHAPTER 20 -DAY 14-<br>Tori's POV

"So as you kids might know, yesterday the police managed to catch the two men that that kidnapped Tori."

The entire gang including my dad and Sikowitz were sitting in André and Robbie's room, seeing as it was the biggest. I don't think anyone else was really completely interested in what my dad had to tell us though.

"Their real names are actually Trevor Macintosh and Edward Hussen, or you probably know them better as 'Walter Lowes' and 'Nicolas Right.'

"They were found at the Chips and Dicks casino just yesterday, and Trevor, or Mr. Lowes, bought a hundred dollars' worth of tickets to a raffle with the prize of fifty grand.

"And the reason why we found them was because he made the mistake of using the name 'Walter Lowes' to register. Because we had spread the information of the names that you kids had given us, the lady in charge of writing out the ticket orders recognized the name and phoned the police immediately.

"When they go there, Mr. Right—I'll just use the names you guys are familiar with to save us some confusion—had just gotten away, but they found him in a back parking lot, trying to start up a black van and caught him just in time.

"Mr. Lowes ended up winning the jackpot, so while he was on the stage, the police managed to corner and capture him."

"Wow, that sounds so simple," I commented, trying not to play with my fingers.

"It actually was. The reason why we never found any fingerprints on anything that they went through was because they both didn't have any—they were burned off when they were 'initiated' into their little gang."

"So what are you going to do to them now?" André asked.

"They'll keep them in jail until we decide to press charges," my dad answered.

"And are you?" Jade couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice.

My dad didn't say anything, and Cat took the opportunity of the silence to say something.

"Am I going to get my three hundred dollars back?"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" My dad shoved his hand into his police vest pockets, rummaging around for a little bit. "Ah, yes. Here you go, dear." He handed Cat three hundred-dollar bills, which she accepted with wide eyes.

"Cool! Thanks, Mr. Vega!" She started bouncing around like a little kid.

"You'd better go put that away," Robbie told her, "this time in a safe location so you don't lose it again."

"I didn't lose it. Those guys _stole _it from me," she pouted, and Robbie put his arms around her in a joking way, pulling her close to his body. They did look pretty cute together, and he was smiling so broadly I thought his mouth wouldn't be able to open any further.

"Hey, I'm sorry to break up the party, but I think it's time to go now," Sikowitz said, coming out of the bathroom. Steam filled the main room, and his hair was slicked back and his beard trimmed neatly.

I looked at the clock. It was almost six-thirty. Time to head to the studio for our very last broadcast.

My dad gave me a hug and told me he'd wait here while we finished up.

Beck and Jade, hand-in-hand, walked out of the room first, quickly followed by Cat and Robbie, still giggling and goofing off with each other. André stared at me almost sheepishly, and gestured me to walk in front of him.

I smiled at him and left with everyone else.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>The studio seemed very pumped up when we entered. Mr. Highes, dressed in a hideously bright red suit, bounced over to us, then stopped.<p>

"You guys ready to give me one last perfect broadcast?" he practically shouted, eyebrows wiggling.

"You bet!" I was the only one to respond with such enthusiasm. Well actually, I was the only one to respond verbally at all.

Everyone else gave some sort of pathetic murmur or mumble.

Mr. Highes frowned, and when he spoke his voice was a good octave deeper than it was earlier.

"Are you guys ready to give me one last perfect broadcast?" he repeated, practically growled.

Cat cowered up against Robbie, and even Jade stiffened a little.

Without warning, Mr. Highes's mood changed again, except this time in a more positive way. His eyes softened, and his voice went back to normal.

"Whoops! Sorry there, kids. Didn't mean to scare you, I promise." He fiddled around in his pockets before pulling out a big orange tube filled with tiny white pills. "My BPD's been acting up a lot more than usual, but I assure you that happens every once in a while. You guys have nothing to do with it." He popped a pill in his mouth and swallowed it quickly while we all stared at him uncomfortably. "What? These are legal." He gestured to the bottle.

"You have borderline personality disorder?" André asked.

I had absolutely no idea what that was, even though I think I might've heard about it before.

"Well yes…I thought I told you kids before," Mr. Highes replied, crinkling his forehead.

"No, you never did," Beck said. "We just though you were seriously bipolar or something."

"Oh, well, no. My goodness, I'm so sorry I never told you kids earlier. That would probably explain why you all seemed so creeped out half of the time I was around," he mused thoughtfully.

We stared at him blankly.

"Anyway," Mr. Highes said, clapping his hands together, "let's get started shall we? You'll all be in a special position today since it's your last broadcast, and typically at the end of the Vegas 777 kid's shifts we always do something special for them."

We all walked out to the main stage area. Instead of the usual professional-ness the room held, it was now heavily decorated with colors and designs that you'd normally see at Hollywood Arts.

"You're teacher told me that this is what the main hall of your school looks like," Mr. Highes said, glancing at Sikowitz.

"Wow!" Cat shouted, jumping up and down. She grabbed Robbie's hand and without another word they ran over to take a closer look at the setups. Mr. Highes walked over to Sikowitz and bent his head towards him, their mouths moving quickly. Then he straightened back up and approached us.

"You like it?" Mr. Highes asked, noticing that we weren't reacting the way Cat and Robbie had. "A lot of kids come back years later to tell me that their last broadcast was always the most memorable," he said thoughtfully.

"Well this is very cool indeed," I agreed.

"Yep. So I'll just you all of to the dressing rooms to get suited up, okay? You'll find out which positions you'll be working when you're done."

We finally managed to get Cat and Robbie's attention and then we all headed over to get ready for our last show in Vegas.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>When we all emerged from our separate stalls, it turned out that we were all pretty much matching. The boys were wearing identical suits, except of different colors. André was wearing a nice navy blue, Beck had black, and Robbie's was white.<p>

I matched with the other girls as well, with black jeans and a button-up plaid shirt. I was wearing a purple one, Jade's was red, and Cat's was dark pink. I have to admit, we did look pretty awesome.

We found Mr. Highes in the green room, and he appeared to be meditating on one of the sofas, legs crossed and arms held out in front of his body, lying on top of each other. No one wanted to snap him out of his trance.

"You do it," Jade hissed at Robbie, poking him.

"No! Why can't you do it?" Robbie argued, color draining from his face when he talked back to Jade.

Jade glared at him and he squeaked, hurrying forward to do as she said.

Robbie stopped two feet in front of Mr. Highes. Tentatively, he reached out an arm and shook Mr. Highes's. Immediately the older man woke up and grabbed the surprised Robbie in a chokehold. Robbie's glasses slid down his nose and he spluttered, trying to pry the hands off of his throat.

"H-h-h-hold on…M-M-Mr. H-Hi-ghes, it's me," he gasped.

"Whoops, sorry there, m'boy," Mr. Highes apologized, pulling Robbie up and brushing off the front of his suit. "For a moment I thought you had that wretched puppet of yours with you…"

Robbie blushed and André and Beck snickered.

"What are our positions for the day going to be, sir?" I asked as Robbie went back to stand next to Cat.

"You're all going to be anchors," he replied, leading us out of the room.

"What?" we all said at once.

_Well, that's going to be impossible_, I thought. _How are the other jobs going to be done_?

"Don't worry," he said, waving a hand around as we entered the main studio again. "I've enlisted the help of the usual workers to take over the other jobs while you kids just do the anchor's work."

"We're not all going to fit on that desk," Jade pointed out.

"That's okay, Miss West. I'm fine with you sitting on the floor," Mr. Highes replied, twitching his eye. He shook his head and took out his orange bottle, taking another pill.

At first, I thought he was joking because some crewmembers brought in an extra desk and placed it next to the current one to expand it, and they also brought out three chairs, only leaving enough room for five people.

I almost had a heart attack from laughter after seeing the look on Jade's face when she realized Mr. Highes was serious.

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>All of us sat down on the stage in an orderly fashion: Jade was on the ground on the right, I was on her left in a chair, then André, Beck, Cat, and Robbie was on the opposite end.<p>

"Having fun down there, Jade?" I asked her.

"Shut up Vega," she replied tartly.

"See, that's why you don't be so rude to billionaires," I said. "Especially when they have the power to humiliate you on public television live in front of millions of viewers."

"Shut up."

I turned to André. "She shouldn't have questioned Mr. Highes, right?" I asked him, pointing down to Jade.

"Nope," he responded, looking somewhat distracted. He was playing rock, paper, scissors with Beck and looked extremely into it for some reason.

"Kids, you've got sixty seconds until show time. I repeat, sixty seconds," the main cameraman called.

"We are not freaking kids," Jade growled. "How many times do I need to say that?"

"Mr. Highes," I said, raising my hand like I was in school, "Jade said that—"

"SHUT UP!" she yelled, grabbing my leg and digging her fingernails angrily through the black fabric.

"Ouch!" I shouted, swatting her hand, but she didn't let go, only crushing my leg harder. "Ow, Jade!"

"Girls!" Mr. Highes reprimanded. "You've got…"

"Five, four, three, two…" the cameraman interrupted.

The mood changed instantly. Jade let go of my leg and I fought the urge to reach down and massage it. My head snapped up and I smiled, trying not to show that I was actually in pain.

"Hello and welcome to LV: Daily Reports. This is our last broadcast, and we bound to make it a special one," Beck read off of the green cue box.

_A special one? What exactly does Mr. Highes have in store for us_?

But then André tap my knee and I realized I was supposed to read the next line.

"I'm Tori Vega, and today we're going to start the broadcast off with your usual anchors, Petey Mackin and Sophia Whiteshot down at a construction site right off of Brightlit Avenue."

We continued with the broadcast, each of us taking turns saying the lines.

At about 8:52 during the commercial break, Mr. Highes leaped onto the stage, carrying a box and pulling out several handheld microphones and handing them to each of us.

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked, taking one.

"You'll see," he responded with a wink.

"But, wait, we don't…" I tried to say, but one of the cameramen interrupted.

"You guys are on!"

Mr. Highes turned around, throwing the now empty box out of the view of the camera. He smiled broadly

"Hello, I'm Mr. Highes, a billionaire here in Las Vegas and also the creator of LV: Daily Reports. As you might already know, this is the Hollywood Arts kids' last broadcast, and tonight they'll be heading back home.

_What is going on_?

"So as you people of LV might know, the staff here always likes to send our wonderful reporters away with a very good lasting memory. And this time I've given each of them a microphone, as you might know that HA is not only an acting school, but also one of singing."

Before I could do anything, several crewmembers came up and dragged us away from the desk, putting us on the main floor. The cameras swiveled loudly to get each of us in the shot.

"You guys might recognize this song," Mr. Highes said, turning to us. "And you can sing along, if you know the words."

And then, there were a couple of guitar chords blaring out of the speakers surrounding us that I recognized. Immediately.

_ Make It Shine_.

I gasped, bringing the microphone closer to my mouth and glancing at my peers. They stared back, eyes gleaming. Sikowitz, in the corner of the room, had his hands against his face and he was smiling too.

Everyone else backed up a few feet, leaving me standing closest to the camera. They wanted me to start singing. I took a deep breath, unable to keep the grin off my face.

"Here I am, once again…"

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><p>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>We were<em> all <em>rocking out to the brilliant tune that André had written a while back. Even though we never rehearsed it like this before, everyone knew all the lines, and we all somehow managed to take turns without needing to make a big deal out of it.

When we finished, Sikowitz applauded loudly and Mr. Highes actually wiped away a few tears as he walked back in front of the camera to finish off our broadcast as we held hands and bowed like in a Broadway play.

"Thank you so much, and can we get another round of applause for this wonderful group of Vegas 777 participants?" He paused, waiting for the clapping that we wouldn't hear, but I knew it existed, and anyways the people in the studio were clapping loudly. "They've all been through so much and managed to keep it together, so let's here it for them!"

"Thank you all for watching these great kids, and we'll be getting a new set in about two or three days. Have a great day, everyone!"

"And we're off!"

I turned to my friends, and they were all standing there breathlessly looking at each other. It was over. It was time to head home. Our days hosting a hit news show were done.

"Your flight is at eight tonight, so you've got a little time to go shopping or something before needing to go to the hotel and get ready, okay?" Mr. Highes said turning towards us.

We all nodded meekly before looking at Sikowitz, who seemed to be blankly staring at the floor. He looked up at us and snapped out of it.

"Oh? All right. You guys better thank Mr. Highes for letting you be on his show.

"Yeah, thanks Mr. Highes."

"It was an honor working for you."

"I'll never forget this!"

We made a few more good-byes to the rest of the crew, and visited all of the rooms for one last time. Once we were out of the studio, we flagged down several taxis and speeded away towards the hotel like there was no tomorrow.

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><p>ABCDFEGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ<p>

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><p>We spent the remaining hours of our stay in Vegas shopping at the nearby stores. Back at the hotel, we hung out in each other's rooms, challenging each other to bowling games, taking a dip in the swimming pool, and dancing away on the disco floor.<p>

Instead of taking separate taxis to the airport, Mr. Highes offered to personally drive his own private bus so we could stay together. My dad wasn't going to come with us because he had to finish up his paperwork at the police station, but afterwards he would head back to Los Angeles.

On the bus, we were crowded by our luggages and newly purchased items, still in boxes and bags. Cat was sitting on Robbie's lap, his arms around her waist, and Beck and Jade were leaning on each other. André looked at me expectantly, like he was waiting for me to hold his hand or something.

"So, what did you kids think about this trip?" Sikowitz asked once we had started moving.

"Well, besides the fact that we almost got killed by some crazy people with guns, our billionaire-host person turned out to be bipolar, Robbie slapped me, and having to sit on the freaking ground for the last broadcast, I think it went pretty well," Jade said sarcastically. "No offense, Mr. Highes."

"None taken, Miss West," the driver responded, actually smiling.

Sikowitz raised an eyebrow.

"I liked the shopping part," Cat said, rubbing her palms on her knees like she was nervous or something. Finally she pried Robbie's hand from around her waist and sat down next to him instead, leaving him looking very surprised and almost hurt.

"That was really nice of you to let us sing at the end, Mr. Highes," André said.

"It was," Beck agreed, even though I knew he wasn't much of a singer.

"Yeah," Robbie added. "You're not as weird now that we know you have a special disorder."

"Unlike you," Jade retorted, "who's just really messed up."

"All right, kids, back to the question," Sikowitz said, trying to get us to focus again.

"Like Jade said, even though I got kidnapped and thrown into a forsaken desert, I think it was still a very interesting experience," I admitted. "And how many people can say that's happened to them?"

Sikowitz laughed.

"You think this has brought us closer together?" Beck asked, playing with Jade's hand.

"Absolutely," everyone agreed, nodding our heads together.

"I'm very proud of you all," Sikowitz said suddenly. "I honestly thought that you were all going to lose it at some point, especially when we were ambushed at the studio, which was not planned, by the way.

"And Tori, when you got kidnapped, every one us worked really hard to make sure that you were still alive and you would come home safely."

_Wow Sikowitz, you're making this sound like a movie or something_.

"Yeah, yeah," we agreed.

"Hey, we're here!" Mr. Highes interrupted, pulling up to the curb and bringing the bus to a slow stop. No one moved. I didn't want to leave anymore. Despite everything that had happened, I didn't want it to end.

The boys, Sikowitz and even Mr. Highes helped take everything out of the bus and put it on the pavement. This time, I would make sure to take my luggage to the checkout myself so Jade couldn't get it booked on another flight.

Mr. Highes gave us all a firm handshake before he got back on his vehicle.

"You kids take care now!" he said, waving his hand out of the window.

"Will do!" Robbie replied, waving back as he drove away.

I looked up at the sky, blue and sunny, and suddenly a very cliché idea came to my mind. As we gathered all together, dragging our luggages towards the doors, I looked at my friends, smiled, and said:

"No matter what happens, it's always sunny in Vegas!"

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><p>THE END.<p>

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><p><strong>Hahaha, that ending makes me crack up so much. XD<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted and favorited this story! It was so much fun writing it, like seriously. Even though sometimes it was super difficult to get 3,000 words per chapter, I did it!**

**There will not be a sequel, because I think that everything was resolved in the end, right? But if you still have questions, concerns, etc., just send me a P.M.!**

**My next story should be up in a few days once I figure out for sure which pairing it will be based on. So again, thanks! You guys are all so awesome. :)**


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